Taste of the Valley names 2015 Iron Chef and Best Taste

The second annual Iron Chef Competition took place on Sunday, August 9, at the Taste of the Valley. Ashley Woods from East Warren Community Market and Tristan Stoughton from The Pitcher Inn battled it out on the Iron Chef stage, transforming five ingredients (flank steak, pistachios, oak-aged cheddar cheese, bacon and Lawson's Sip of Sunshine) into two courses – a salad and a main course.

Because of a family emergency with one of the judges, a replacement judge needed to be chosen from the audience. Names were placed in a bowl and the replacement judge that was chosen was Yannik Finkelstein, a young man from Manhattan visiting The Valley with his grandparents. Yannik took the job very seriously, joining judges Alice Levitt and Joan Wilson to choose the Iron Chef winner. The Valley Arts Foundation is pleased to announce that Tristan Stoughton won the close match. Tristan took home the Iron Chef trophy and will receive an engraved plaque.

Equally important, all guests at the Taste of the Valley were able to vote for their favorite Taste presented during the evening. After counting all of the votes, East Warren Community Market and their assorted pierogis won.