Father-daughter team takes top prize at annual Dutch oven cook-off

SANDY — A father-daughter team took this year's International Dutch Oven Society's World Championship Cook Off Saturday at the International Sportsman's Expo.

Tori Lewis of McCammon, Idaho, and her father, Terry Lewis of Tabiona, won $2,500 and bragging rights with their Country Crown Pork With Wild Rice Stuffing and Cranberry Glaze, Tori's Favorite Rolls, and a Spiced Apple Pear Pie.

The two have been regulars on the Dutch oven competition circuit for several years, and Terry was part of a world championship team in 1996.

"The first cook-off I did with my dad, I was 9 years old," said Tori Lewis, now 15.

"We had some challenges with some of our dishes, but the whole thing was such a neat experience to be here cooking with all our old friends and new friends," said Terry Lewis

One of those challenges happened when Terry realized he had forgotten to bring the cranberry sauce that goes into the pork glaze. So they improvised, using just cranberry juice. "I was worried, but Tori told me to just shut up and breathe, and move on. And I decided I actually like the glaze better with just the cranberry juice."

He said he learned to cook when he was 9 years old, when his parents were in an accident and his mother was in the hospital and then recuperating several months.

"My grandmothers came and taught me how to cook so that I could take care of the younger kids," he said. "I didn't like it much, because it was a chore, but after Mom got better, I still cooked sometimes and I liked it, because I didn't have to do it all the time."

Tori's advice for someone who wants to compete?

"To not worry that much about it and try to have fun."

Rather than basking in glory after two long days of cooking competition, the duo immediately asked to compete against local professional chefs in Sunday's annual Iron Chef Cook-Off.

"It might be my only chance to get my butt kicked by the big boys," Terry Lewis said.

The annual championship, held as part of the International Sportsman's Expo at the South Towne Expo Center, attracted 15 teams of Dutch-oven enthusiasts, from as far away as British Columbia.

Each team prepared three dishes: a dessert, a bread and a main dish, all in Dutch ovens using only hot coals for heat. Teams had to qualify by cooking in the semi-finals on Thursday and Friday.

Saturday's dishes illustrated how the culinary bar has been raised in the championship's 20-year history. Instead of typical Dutch oven dishes such as stew and chili, entrees included Italian Stuffed Turkey Breasts, Glazed Cornish Hens with Apricot Couscous Stuffing, Shredded Pork with Hand-Made Tortillas, and Rack of Lamb with Sage-Embossed Potatoes and Panko-Roasted Asparagus.