{"id":10234,"date":"2012-05-11T14:28:27","date_gmt":"2012-05-11T18:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/gourmet\/2012\/05\/the-chef-challenge-albany-vs-saratoga.html"},"modified":"2017-12-02T10:14:21","modified_gmt":"2017-12-02T15:14:21","slug":"the-chef-challenge-albany-vs-saratoga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/gourmet\/2012\/05\/the-chef-challenge-albany-vs-saratoga\/","title":{"rendered":"Albany vs. Saratoga Chef Challenge: And the Winner is…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saratoga!<\/p>\n

Last night, two chefs from the Capital Region battled it out in an “Iron Chef” style competition! It was game on between Albany <\/a>vs. Saratoga<\/a> as Chef John Ireland of Panza’s Restaurant<\/b> and A.J. Jayapal of The Brown Derby Restaurant<\/b> went head to head to see who could be labeled the ultimate culinary mastermind. The chefs were told seconds before the competition what the secret ingredient was (a lemon!) which had to be used in each part of the meal – the appetizer, main entree and dessert.<\/p>\n

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\nThe
\n dishes were beautifully created and presented to panel of judges. The judges
\nincluded three local celebrity food experts – Steve Barnes of Table Hopping<\/b><\/i> Chef Jasper Alexander, owner and chef at Hattie’s restaurant<\/b> and local
\nfood blogger Dr. John Sconzo. Chef John Ireland of Saratoga stole the show as the judges declared him “the clear winner of the competition!”
\nCongratulations! Next year he’ll go head to head with another chef of
\nthe Capital Region<\/b> to redeem his title.<\/p>\n

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In
\n addition to the competition, guests enjoyed some top notch cuisine from
\n local area restaurants. These dishes were absolutely incredible<\/i>. Some items on the menu included:<\/p>\n