Last night I visited the Scott Community Home Grown Iron Chef Competition at the Farmer’s Market at Trinity Terrace Park in Davenport.  If you have ever watched Iron Chef on the food network, there is nothing like seeing this competition live.  Unlike the TV version, the chefs in this competition do not know their secret ingredient until they are ready to start cooking it.  This is the third week of the competition.  The first week, the special ingredient was alligator, followed by rattlesnake, and finally turtle.  Where does one get these exotic meats?  Well, if you live in the Quad City area, you get them at Johnny’s Meat Market, of course!  Check out the meat stores in your area to see if they have a license to sell wild game.  Chances are there will be some meat market in your area that does.  All of these meats need to be inspected by the USFDA to keep them safe.

The competition was complete with some special samples prepared at the respective chef houses:  Tomato, basil, mozzarella sticks — which actually looked like a bouquet of flowers; a sinful chocolate cake…YUM!!

But nothing beats the smell of the competition:  Freshly grilled peppers, spicy sauces, interesting concoctions!  If you have a chance to check this out, there is one more event at 4:30pm on Monday, July 27th.  If you want more, for a $40 ticket, you can watch the winners of all four weeks in a final showdown at the new Waterfront Convention Center from 1-5pm on Sunday, August 2nd.