SAHUARITA, Ariz. (KGUN) — For this latest showcase, Good Morning Tucson made a couple stops — Midtown and Downtown — to check in with the two men ready to chop, slice and compete in this year's Iron Chef Tucson challenge.
Kitchen teams know what rush hour feels like, but an Iron Chef-style competition is a different beast entirely. The clock's running and time is not on your side.
This year, Dante's Fire owner and chef Kenneth Foy is practicing to defend his back-to-back titles, and he has his Year One team of sous chefs ready to help him accomplish that goal.
The big party at Desert Diamond arena is a two-fold event: First, there's the culinary experience, where people can sample other local cooks' dishes.
The main event is at 6:30 p.m. Part of the event's revenue will help support the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.
We asked Foy, "How much does two prior wins help with experience?"
"A lot," Foy said. "We almost failed the whole thing the first year. Every year, when we've done a practice, we failed at least once. I think it helps us -- knowing what it feels like to not get it done."
Sitting in on this practice run the week before the big competition, Oct. 5, we watched Foy refine his plan to tackle whatever this year's secret ingredient will be.
He will also rely on muscle memory and the skills he's honed for decades, including a fundamental technique he shared as part of our first visit to Dante's Fire.
"When we were in culinary school," he said previously, "they (made) us practice with dry beans in a pan so you can try to keep it in. My dog when I was going through culinary school was a very happy individual."
Who is Foy facing in this year's thunderdome? Tucson native and Obon Sushi & Ramen executive chef Anthony Dromgoole.
"It's a huge dream to go," he said. Dromgoole said this is his first time ever competing in an event like this, but he, too, will have his team of sous chefs ready to help.
"Honestly, the best thing I'm going to try and do is keep my composure in those chaotic crunch times," Dromgoole said. "If you don't keep a level head, it can definitely go sideways." Dromgoole has that experience, having cooked with big names in our community's food scene.
He said he's also ready to throw in some surprises, all while staying mindful and grateful he gets to check this challenge off his bucket list.
"If I could go back in time, and walk up on 12-year-old me and tell him, 'Hey, you're going to be in Tucson Iron Chef one day.' I probably, awkwardly, would've walked away," he said.
"I'm just going to go at it. Either way, I'm going to have fun. Win, lose, or draw, but it will be even sweeter if I win.”
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José Zozaya is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. Before arriving in southern Arizona, José worked in Omaha, Nebraska where he covered issues ranging from local, state and federal elections, to toxic chemical spills, and community programs impacting immigrant families. Share your story ideas and important issues with José by emailing jose.zozaya@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
