BATH

This week, local chefs came together to face off in a culinary showdown and find out who could prepare the best entree — all while raising money for Meals on Wheels.

Spectrum Generations hosted its fifth annual Celebrity Chef Challenge on Tuesday at Maine Maritime Museum.

Meals on Wheels, which provides home delivered meals to seniors, is overseen by Spectrum Generations in six counties as well as the communities of Harpswell and Brunswick. The nonprofit is responsible for 40 percent of the meals provided through the program in Maine.

The Celebrity Chef Challenge is a chance both to raise money for the program and celebrate its success.

Keynote speaker Courtney Kennedy of the Good Shepherd Food Bank spoke of how she would check on her elderly neighbor every morning.

“I would give her coffee and her breakfast, and saw how age was wearing on her,” Kennedy said. “I suggested to her and her family that they look into Meals on Wheels.

“The meals that were being delivered to Pat were healthy meals, but it was comforting that there was somebody else building a relationship and having an opportunity to go inside the house besides me,” she added.

“This is our culminating year, where we’re bringing back challengers who actually won in the previous four years,” said Community Engagement Officer Stephanie Hanner.

4-way battle planned

The planned four-way battle royal was not in the cards, however. According to President and CEO Gerard Queally, one of the scheduled chefs canceled and another was out with a serious illness.

Now going one on one, the remaining competitors, Chris Toole from The Highlands in Topsham and Tim O’Brien from Enoteca Athena in Brunswick, were ready to lay it all on the line.

“Do I make a dish intending to win? Absolutely,” said Toole. “But if I do, it’s great. If I don’t, no big deal. We’re in here sharing spices and whatever. So no, it’s not a cutthroat competition.”

The two chefs were busy preparing the evening’s entrees as celebrity waiters — including Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry and Bob Crowley of “Survivor” fame — delivered hors d’oeuvres and salads to the hungry crowd,

In typical Meals on Wheels fashion, the chefs’ had to abide by certain restrictions in preparing the food.

“We try to have at least 35 percent of our food that we produce for our community dining or Meals on Wheels come from locally sourced ingredients,” said Hanner. “So it’s local meats, local farms. They have to follow the rules that we have to follow when we’re preparing our meals.”

Guidelines followed

“We had guidelines that we have to go by — our government guidelines — but usually we go above and beyond, because a 2-ounce protein really isn’t much,” said Gary Hurtubise, head chef at Spectrum Generations. “For a lot of them, it’s their main meal of the day. So we try to make it as good and healthy as possible, and make it appetizing too.”

The chefs were unperturbed by those requirements.

“People go out not necessarily to watch their waistline or whatnot, they’re going out to eat. So there are some dishes that we produce that are kind of high-calorie things,” said O’Brien of the low-fat requirements for the entree. “(But) I didn’t have any difficulties with it.”

Both meals had to be made with the same ingredients: beef, corn, carrots and green beans. The chefs received a curveball of a secret ingredient last week: fresh tomatoes.

“I did a Korean beef, and it had sesame green beans, tomato kimchi and a spicy carrot salad,” said Toole. “And a corn fritter.”

“Mine was a stuffed beef on top of a shredded carrot fritter on top of a roasted tomato and corn sauce,” said O’Brien.

After much deliberation, Toole was named both the Judges’ Choice and People’s Choice.

Meal on Wheels recipients may soon have the chance to sample Toole’s winning entree. Hanner said that the winner’s meal would be incorporated into the Meals on Wheels program.

nstrout@timesrecord.com