Snapper Grabbers Team Wins Iron City Chef

July 16, 2018 dbobo Blog
Iron City Chef 2018 - from Sydney Cromwell 280 Living

Photo by Sydney Cromwell of 280 Living

By Sydney Cromwell
280 Living

Snapper Grabbers Land & Sea rose to the top of the competition at the 2018 Iron City Chef.

The event, held on July 14 at Jefferson State Community College’s Culinary and Hospitality Institute, off Valleydale Road in Hoover, featured four local chefs creating a complete menu, which guests got to sample. Iron City Chef also featured music, a silent auction and hors d’oeuvres prior to the taste testing.

Chef Patrick McCown from Snapper Grabbers Land & Sea took home the Iron Skillet. His menu featured smoked Creole beef brisket, bacon marmalade, crawfish comte, mac and cheese, fresh pea tendrils and bananas Foster bread pudding as dessert.

McCown faced off against chef Gary Jones of Root to Tail, chef Jabari Nix from the Uptown Sheraton & Westin Hotel and chef Sean Butler from Five Star Preserve, who was the 2017 champion. Their main courses ranged from hickory-smoked quail and blackened lobster in cream sauce to coconut lamb banh mi. Desserts that guests sampled included salted caramel and bacon cheesecake, blueberry basil ice cream and Priester pecan pralines.

Iron City Chef 2018 - from Sydney Cromwell 280 Living 2

Photo by Sydney Cromwell of 280 Living

As part of the win, McCown’s sous chef, a student at Jefferson State, also received a scholarship.

Iron City Chef is hosted by the Vestavia Rotary Club and the proceeds from the event support the club’s annual scholarships and charity work, as well as the math and debate programs at Vestavia Hills City Schools. Members of the Pizitz Middle School math team were on hand at the event to serve drinks and help with other tasks throughout the night.

Learn more about the event and the Vestavia Rotary at vestaviarotary.org.