Iron Chef America won by local

[jesseps]

Quebec chef Chuck Hughes has won the epic TV food battle, Iron Chef America, beating out his heavyweight competitor with a plate of lobster poutine.

 

The Montreal cooking show host was the second Canadian and first Quebecer to "reign supreme," as they say on the show, which aired Sunday night on Food Network Canada.

 

Hughes beat out Bobby Flay, one of the show's resident culinary masters, in the kitchen stadium battle, which featured the secret ingredient — Canadian lobster.

 

With his two sous-chefs from his Old Montreal restaurant, Garde-Manger, at his side, Hughes whipped up a multi-course menu in an hour that wowed the panel of judges.

 

"This really is a dream come true for me. It was one of the most intense challenges of my life, and I'm so proud and honoured to represent Quebec and Canada," said Hughes in a statement released Monday morning.

 

Having lobster as a surprise ingredient didn't hurt. Hughes likes the crustacean so much that he has a picture of one tattooed on his arm, along with shrimp, pie and bacon.

 

"I actually kind of knew exactly where we were going to go with it, so it was kind of a perfect-case scenario," he said.

 

Vancouver's Rob Feenie was the first Canadian chef to win the series in 2005.

 

Other Canadian chefs who've battled but lost on the series, a spinoff of a Japanese cult hit, include Michael Smith and Lynn Crawford.

 

(Courtesy of CBC News)

 

[LindbergMTL]

Poutine et homard? manque juste le sirop d erable. ;-) La poutine est vraiment devenue celebre, en tout cas parmi bien des New Yorkais que je rencontre. Que voulez-vous, la culture quebecoise se... repand et degouline partout!