The Cougar Chef Throwdown: BBQ Showdown was held from 4 to 5 p.m. on April 23 on the first floor of the CUB. Four WSU chefs competed by creating their own special barbecue dish using a protein, a Spiceology blend, a homemade barbecue sauce and a side dish. The event included a panel of judges who crowned the best dish at the end of the event and a student section where students could taste all four courses for free and place a vote for their favorite.
Chef Wohlfeil delivered smoked taco ribs with raspberry Serrano BBQ sauce and Puebla baked beans. Wohlfeil said he chose pork ribs because that is what he typically cooks at home when he has guests over.
Chef John’s feature dish was butternut squash trami and smoked pastrami with golden peach BBQ sauce and sweet potato chips. According to the presenter, John’s inspiration for the dish came down to the spice blend he used, which elevated the flavors of mushroom and shallot.
Chef Clark’s dish was barbecue brisket sliders featuring apple BBQ sauce and mac & cheese. Clark chose the Spiceology Tennessee smoked rub because the spice blend has a complex and smoky flavor which pairs very well with his dish. This dish specifically reminds Clark of a good Texas barbecue.
Chef Sparks’ dish was tea-smoked salmon burnt ends, featuring Korean BBQ sauce and a cucumber salad. Sparks’ presenter board said he wanted his dish to highlight our natural resources and his love of fishing within his dish.
This event was partnered with Spiceology, a spice company founded in 2013 in Spokane. Each chef got to choose from a variety of blends to add to their signature dish.
“We have over 200 different products in which each chef was able to choose one of them to use in their dish,” the Spiceology representative said.
After getting to taste the extraordinary food from these chefs, students got to cast their own vote on which chef they believed had the best dish.
Student Jaccob Rasmusspf voted for Chef Wohlfeil after being torn between two dishes.
“In the end, I just liked the whole thing. The beans especially,” Rasmusspf said. “Some of the sauce fell into the beans and I mixed it around and it made it better. So my vote goes to Wohlfeil.”
On the other hand, Laine Bennett voted for Chef Sparks.
“I thought his was really good. It was the salmon’s burnt ends,” she said. “It was delicious, it was smoked and it was kind of spicy. And it had a cucumber salad on the side. I wish there was more, but it was really, really good. I thought that the other ones were really good, but I thought this one was a little more unique and interesting.”
After four delicious meals, the judges announced the winner as Chef Sparks with his tea-smoked salmon burnt ends, while Chef John took home the student choice award for his butternut squash trami and smoked pastrami dish.
