Paley Dream Team Defeats Garces
Vitaly Paley and team take home top honor against Iron Chef Jose Garces with innovative use of Northwest ingredients.
Posted by: Allison Jones on Apr 18, 2011 at 02:00PM
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The crowd cheers on Vitaly Paley at the Ecotrust building in Portland’s Pearl District.
View Slideshow » Illustration:Vitaly Paley accepts the “Fork to the City” while wife Kimberly cheers him on.
View Slideshow » Illustration: View Slideshow » Illustration:Iron Chef Dream Team Patrick McKee, Vitaly Paley, and Ben Bettinger.
View Slideshow » Illustration: View Slideshow » Illustration:Bang a gong! Kimberly Paley kicks of the events, and viewers celebrate with radish tattoos.
View Slideshow » Illustration:Chef Ben Bettinger and Chef Vitaly Paley.
View Slideshow » Illustration:Celebratory whiskey and cigars for the man of the hour.
It was over as soon as it started. When the Iron Chef America secret ingredient was revealed to be a Paley’s Place favorite -the humble radish – the crowd gathered for the screening party at the Ecotrust building in the Pearl District burst into cheers for the inevitable victory of a hometown hero. Dream Team Vitaly Paley, Benjamin Bettinger (of Beaker and Flask), and Paley’s chef de cuisine Patrick McKee left the Iron Chef crying into his radish congee, earning top marks in both taste and originality by using every bit of the farmers’ market favorite. A pioneer of farm-to-fork cuisine in Portland, Paley made the Iron Chef challenge look easy, whipping up radish green and ricotta gnocchi with Dungeness crab, radish sorbet, sous vide daikon radish and turnips with bacon and chanterelle mushrooms, and a watermelon radish tarte tatin with Granny Smith apples, a watermelon radish caramel sauce, and radish green and mint syrup. The judges – Cooking Channel host Bal Arnisen, author Michael Ruhlman, and PR guru Karine Bakhoum – couldn’t help but fall for Paley’s comforting and creative menu that read like a love letter to spring in the Pacific Northwest.
Check out the photos of last night’s screening, complete with Kimberly Paley’s gong banging, the presentation of the “Fork to the City” from the mayor’s office, plate after plate of radishes on toast, and radish temporary tattoos. When asked if he’d be sporting the fake ink with the rest of the Paley’s Place staff, Paley smiled and said, “No, I’ll be getting the real thing.” An Iron Chef tattoo? We’ll hold you to that, Vitaly.
Want a taste of the winning dishes? Live out your Iron Chef judge fantasies at Paley’s Place – the Northwest PDX institution will be serving the radish plates a la carte and as a comprehensive tasting menu all week long, with selections available throughout April.
Tags: Portland Chefs, Northwest Dining, television
