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August 21, 2008
Ashland man named Oregon Iron Chef
By Mandy Valencia
Reporter
Ashland Daily
Tidings
Dragonfly is known for some
cutting-edge, original cuisine, and now chef Neil
Clooney — the man
behind the menu — has proven his skill at the
state level, winning the Iron Chef Oregon competition.
Clooney, head chef and part owner of Dragonfly, in
November won the Food and Wine Classic, a regional
cooking competition. He earned a seat competing in
Portland on Aug. 7, for Iron Chef Oregon, a charity-based
event benefiting the Special Olympics.
 On the first day of the competition
Clooney was up against the regional champion from
Tillamook. Like in the "Iron Chef" television
show, the chefs' challenge was making a dish with
a mystery ingredient in 30 minutes or less.
The first mystery ingredient was Asian lingcod.
"I preferred the dish I prepared the first day," Clooney
said. "I made a crispy version of the pan-seared
Asian lingcod with celery root and tarragon potato
hash browns with caper gremolata and balsamic au jus."
Clooney, wanting to really impress
the judges, went above and beyond what was required
and made a second dish with the cod. "For my
second dish I made a ratatouille with poached cod
and basil foam."
The final mystery ingredients were swordfish and blackberries.
Clooney's winning dish was pan-fried swordfish, caramelized
fennel, blackberry and ginger marmalade, rolled up
and shredded fresh pasta with cilantro and lime.
Celebrity chef Kat Cora was the guest master of ceremonies.
With no pasta maker on hand, Clooney took Cora's ouzo
bottle and used it to roll over his handmade pasta
and shred it into strips.
Now that Clooney is reigning Iron Chef of Oregon,
he holds the seat until next year's event, where he
will only make one dish in the final round that the
runner-up will try to beat.
"I love doing things like this," he said. "It
gets you out of the restaurant."
Clooney will demonstrate his skills next at the Food
and Wine Classic, Nov. 14-16 in Ashland. The event
features local chefs creating cuisine focused on local
produce and products. For more information, contact
the Ashland Chamber of Commerce.
Copyright © 2008 Ashland Daily
Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.
Thank you.
Dragonfly Cafe
and Gardens
241 Hargadine Street, Ashland, Oregon (OR) 97520
541.488.4855 |
