Auburn chef whisks competition to win Food Network’s ‘Iron Chef Showdown’

An Auburn chef has chopped, mixed and cooked his way to victory in the Food Network show “Iron Chef Showdown.” The episode aired Wednesday evening.

David Bancroft, head chef of Acre at 210 East Glenn Ave in Auburn, overcame his initial competition to take on Iron Chef Jose Garces - and win.

On the show, chefs compete to prepare dishes that will impress the judges - but must incorporate a mystery secret ingredient that is only revealed right before the competition begins. If the chefs beat their initial competition, they earn the right to compete against one of the Iron Chefs, in this case award-winning restauranteur Jose Garces.

Bancroft trounced his initial competition and moved on to compete against Garces. Alongside Bancroft were his teammates, chef de cuisine Caleb Fischer and chef Adam Evans of Muscle Shoals, Ala., reported AL.com.

In the final showdown, Chef Bancroft and his teamed fought a tough battle, but came away with the win, scoring 42 points with the judges over Chef Garces’ team’s 40. He created a rib dish and a type of bone marrow pudding, according to Acre’s Facenook page. His was the first win over an Iron Chef this season.

Bancroft, a self-taught chef, opened Acre in 2013 and has been a James Beard Foundation semi-finalist for best southern chef, according to a bio from the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival.

“Still can’t believe it!! Unbelievably proud of Chef David, Chef Caleb, and Chef Adam for their performance and win on Iron Chef Showdown last night!!!” the Acre restaurant wrote on its Facebook page.

“It feels amazing. This win is for my team and Alabama, my team, my family, my wife, my children ... “ Bancroft said on the show.

According to Food Network, you’ll be able to catch repeat airings Sunday, Dec. 24 at 6 p.m., Wednesday Dec. 27 at 10 p.m., and Thursday, Dec. 28 at 1 a.m. (all times Eastern).

This story was originally published December 22, 2017 at 7:22 AM with the headline "Auburn chef whisks competition to win Food Network’s ‘Iron Chef Showdown’."