Monster Chefs Take Over Fenway Park

The Red Sox may have been playing in Minneapolis last night, but there was still plenty of cheering going on at Fenway Park. The first ever Monster Chef event was held at the EMC Club, and Boston magazine president Dan Scully (we call him el jefe) got in the kitchen to work some magic.

Teams were comprised of a member of the media, an Aramark or Red Sox personality, and a party planner. Our boy Scully was on a team with former Sox pitcher Luis Tiant, Linda Matzkin from party planning company Hopple Popple, and Fenway Park chef Mark Connell. Shortly after the teams were chosen, asparagus was revealed as the secret ingredient, which seemed a bit unfair.

The teams worked with an Aramark chef to devise a menu, then had an hour and a half to prepare two dishes. The chefs were encouraged to bring a raucous cheering section with them, and Hopple Popple did not disappoint. They used the decorative kitchen utensils on the tables to keep a beat as they sang songs. We stuck with the tried and true method of cheering loudly as Scully skewered scallops in the kitchen.

“I’m working my ass off,” he told us with a smile as the end of the cooking time drew near. After a 10-minute extension, the teams plated their foods for the celebrity chef judges. Tiant grabbed a seat next to us, and told us that he’d kept his championship ring on during the entire competition. But, isn’t it hard to cook with such a substantial piece of jewelry?

“It’s heavy, man,” he said with a sigh as he sampled the food he’d cooked and complained about how much his feet hurt from running around the kitchen. Clearly, Luis had done all his heavy lifting for the Sox in the 70’s.

Scully and friends didn’t win the competition, despite plating a decent surf and turf and seafood paella. Team “Upchuck and Die” won the competition with its cocoa and cumin encrusted tenderloin and pan-seared scallop with asparagus puree. But now that he’s done it once, we bet Scully will be unstoppable at next year’s competition.