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Community Corner

Crazy for Crepes

Local teenagers competed in an Iron Chef-style competition on Wednesday afternoon to determine whose crepe skills would reign supreme at the Ferguson Library

Yesterday, 22 teenagers gathered at the for a cooking competition that challenged them to work as teams to create the best crepes. The winners in three categories -- sweet, savory, and a third round for best presentation -- received gift certificates to

“A lot of prep work went into this program. Barbara Klipper created the program, based in part on the television show, and I did a lot of the grunt work,” Steve Zampino, teen librarian at the Ferguson Library, told Patch. “But the response was great, we’re more than full.”

As they began, Zampino played three short videos about crepe-making for the group and gave them some basic guidelines to ensure their creations arrived on the judging table in one piece.

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“These crepes are really delicate,” Zampino said. “You can’t pile them high like a submarine sandwich.”

Set loose on the ingredients tables, the teams filled their crepes with strawberries, whipped cream, bananas, and plenty of Nutella and chocolate sauce.

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This is the first Iron Chef teen event at the library, but judging by the response, similar events may be on the horizon.

"It's good for all the kids to get together and I get to meet them, which is great for me as a teen librarian," Zampino said.

One team was chosen in each round to serve as judges to taste and rank the remaining teams’ crepes -- the first judges were Alexandra Nana, Myrielle Thiersaint, and Meghana Inabathini. What were they looking for as they moved down the row of chocolatey creations?

“Sugar and cream,” said Nana with a smile.

Two teams tied for the title in the first round: Denver Dorsainvil and Kevin Lam and Pari Vijay and Denver Lark.

“It was really ugly, but it was really sweet,” Vijay said of her team’s winning crepe. “We messed up and it broke -- we thought we weren’t going to win, but we put a lot of effort into it and in the end, it showed.”

Dorsainvil and Lam hurried back to their table to eat up the remainder of their winning crepe.

As the savory round began, teams piled crepes high with cheese, avocado, salsa, lettuce, and tomatoes -- many filled so full they had trouble getting them closed up. Jennifer Midy and Michelle Shaw-Patino served as the judges, moving slowly down the row and exchanging thoughts on each creation.

“I’m looking for something interesting,” Shaw-Patino said. “Someone who thought outside of the box.”

“It has to come together,” Midy added. “And I love salad, so anyone who used salad.”

The victors of the second round were sisters Matti and Melissa Shaw-Patino.

“I like that they didn’t use everything,” Midy said. “It’s my favorite.”

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