So today I experienced the best food I have ever eaten in my life. No, I didn’t go to some 5 star restaurant in New York. I had marvelous food right in the relative comfort of my own work place. Every so often, the chefs at work compete in a food battle for bragging rights. This battle goes down Iron Chef style, with a secret main ingredient and all. I was one of four judges in today’s competition and I was blown away. I can’t really do the food justice in words, so I’ll attempt to let my grainy camera phone pics do the talking. The asterisks denote my favorite dishes. Without further ado, let the berry battle begin.

Team 1:

Crab and Blueberry Cakes with Chipolte-Berry Aoli*

Chipotle-strawberry Mashed Potatoes (don’t remember what kind of steak that was)

Spicy Roasted Salmon with Mixed berry Sauce

I failed to take a picture of the Chocolate Passion fruit ice cream over Berry Preserves.

Team 2:

Strawberry Consomme

Blueberry Lavender Risotto*

Crab, Brie and Currant Stuffed Puff Pastry, Blueberry Sauce*

Roasted Chicken, Currant Gastrique, Savory Cornbread, Baby Squash, Raspberry Glaze

My favorite in the competition was Team 2. While Team 1 came out swinging with that crab cake situation, Team 2 took the crab-berry combo to a whole different level. The brie mixed with the crab on its own was salty but the sweetness of the berries offset the saltiness perfectly. In fact, Team 2 followed the sweet and savory theme throughout all its dishes and pulled it off fabulously. It’s no wonder Team 2 was headed up by my favorite chef (I found out after we were done). Overall, the best (and only) 8 course meal I’ve ever eaten. Great job to all!