Wild about Game This is the second year I’ve participated in Nicky USA’s Wild About Game event in Portland. Last year I cooked with Vitaly Paley of Paley’s Place (2005 James Beard Award Winner Best Chef NW/Hawaii) in a game and pinot noir comparative tasting, which was a blast! Vitaly and I had a great time cooking together, and the wines were excellent. This year I was asked to compete in the Wild Game Cook-off, an “Iron Chef” like contest against many of the Northwest’s most talented chefs, hosted at The Heathman Hotel with Phillipe Boulot. The night prior to the cook-off we drew our names from the hat to determine start times the next morning. I drew 9:45, not too early, but still didn’t know what I’d be cooking with. The next morning I arrived and drew my protein item; Elk. Elk loin, elk rack and elk liver. Other possible items I might have drawn included; wild boar, squab, quail, duck, bison, venison, etc. The clock was now ticking, I had just over 2 hours to prepare and present my dish for the judges. I’ve cooked elk before, in fact we’ve featured it on the menu at Lark during the fall and winter months, so I wasn’t too worried, though the elk liver was a bit daunting. It must have been about 7 or 8 pounds! All of the chefs had access to a large selection of pantry and produce items from The Heathman Hotel’s stores. I scouted around for about 20 minutes deciding what looked inspiring, before determining my menu. My feeling when cooking and serving most game meats, including elk, is to let the unique flavor of that meat come out, to not mask the flavor. I think that savoring the wild, herbal and sometimes stronger flavor is what it’s all about. With that in mind I came up with this for my menu; “Elk rack with celery root puree and truffled celery root and parsley salad, elk crepinette (which is a fancy sausage patty wrapped in caul fat) with turnips and wild mushrooms, and elk liver with caramelized quince and cipollini onions, a little play on classic liver and onions’. It kind of sounds like a lot, but was really very focused, and straight forward compared to some of the other chef’s offerings. I used all three cuts of elk, which was optional, each chef could use just one cut if they wanted. I got to work peeling, butchering, prepping and cooking alongside the other chef’s who had already begun, or who started after I did. It made for a busy and hectic 2 hours. I finished on time and presented 7 plates for the judges, and for photos. Then I got to relax for a while, the judges had to taste and examine everyones items, with the winner announced at 4 PM. At four all of the guests, judges and chefs gathered to here the announcement. It was exciting, because of the caliber of chefs in the room (Phillipe Boulot of the Heathman, Thierry Rautereau of Rover’s, Jody Denton of Merenda, Joseba Jimenez de Jimenez of Harvest Vine, Scott Staples of Zoe, Kenny Giambalvo of Blue Hour, Scott Dolich of Park Kitchen and Cathy Whim of Nostrana), as well as that of the judges. Alton Brown of TV Food Network and Lynn Rosetta Kaspar of the Splendid Table being the two big stars. It was quite a surprise (I think I actually jolted!) when Alton Brown read my name as the clear winner of the cook-off. He said after tasting through many delicious preparations, the judges decided on the Elk Tasting because of the clarity of flavor, the elk tasted like elk, and the additional ingredients harmonized seamlessly. It was a good time, and I was honored by such good company. I guess I’ll be back next year to defend my title. You can read more about the competition on the Nicky USA website.      -- Johnathan Sundstrom To receive the latest news on Lark events, menus, and more, sign up for the Lark Newsletter.