Turn on the Food Network and you’re likely going to see a program pitting chef against chef in a battle for culinary supremacy. For Kayleen Vander Veen, who works in Central’s dining services, that world doesn’t end when she flips off her TV.
In fact, you could call Vander Veen Central’s resident “Iron Chef.” Recently, her Kitchen Stadium was Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Altoona, where she competed in the Iowa Restaurant Association’s state culinary competition, winning the People’s Choice Award.
Vander Veen faced seven other chefs from across Iowa in a cooking competition judged on appearance, taste, tenderness, texture, product use, creativity and practicality. Each chef was given unrestricted time to prepare a rib-eye entrée with two soy sides and 15 minutes to present it to a panel of judges.
Vander Veen’s entry was pepper-seared rib-eye with celery root puree, served with edamame and sweet corn succotash accented with cognac butter and tobacco onion rings.
“I really enjoy getting Central’s name out there and seeing our dining services compete against some of the best restaurants in the state,” says Vander Veen.
After the judges’ tasting, Vander Veen had 90 minutes to prepare appetizer-sized portions of her dish for more than 400 attendees. It was these well-fed guests who awarded Vander Veen the People’s Choice Award. “I go to do well, but I’m always shocked and honored to get an award,” she says.
A professional chef since 1998, Vander Veen got her start cooking in her grandmother’s restaurant while still a teenager. She has been cooking at Central for four years and competes in three to four competitions a year.
Vander Veen says she always strives to do better, and that mantra holds true outside competitions. Despite her already thorough practical knowledge, Vander Veen is currently working toward a degree as a certified executive chef. She earned a scholarship from Hormel Foods and is studying through the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.
“Food has evolved a lot over the last 10 years,” Vander Veen says. “People want healthier food that tastes better.”
As she sees it, Vander Veen is responsible for making a quality product for her customers at Central Market. It’s appropriate, then, that she was recognized with the People’s Choice Award. That’s who she is out to please anyway.
