Paul Dauch, chef at the Wood
County Senior Center, bravely stepped into the arena earlier this month, armed with a menu fit to make
mouths water.Of course, so did his competition, a contingent of kitchen gurus from Sterling House Assisted
Living in Bowling Green under Chef James Price.The two groups faced off in the second annual Wood County
Chefs Throwdown, a culinary competition held Oct. 19 at Penta Career Center.Three celebrity judges and a
crowd of 200 or more members of the public gathered to sample each chef’s three-course offering of
appetizer, entree and dessert.Weekdays, Dauch serves lunch that was prepared at the Wood County Production
Kitchen “and I cook dinner here at the downtown site,” explained Dauch, who has been a fixture at the senior
center building on North Main Street in Bowling Green for the past eight and a half years.“Before, I was
with Bob Evans” — first at the Bowling Green restaurant, then at Findlay, and finally as a corporate
manager.His throwdown menu began with a refreshing watermelon and arugula salad, for which Dauch won the
People’s Choice Award in the appetizer category.For the entree he served a sliced flank steak with smashed
redskin potatoes and a popular sage roasted cauliflower.

Dauch is sharing both the salad and the cauliflower side dish recipes with today’s Cook’s
Corner readers.Price’s Sterling House menu, also based around a steak dish, won the judges’ overall
championship as well as People’s Choice Awards for dessert and entree. He served up a crabcake with
pineapple and orange salsa appetizer. His winning entree was beef chuck roast au ju with whipped potatoes
with butter and chives, and a vegetable medley of steamed broccoli, carrot and cauliflower in a butter
oil.The dessert that wowed the crowd was a chocolate cake with raspberry mint topped with mascarpone
cheese.Last year was the first year for Chefs Throwdown, and both Dauch and Price took part in the 2012
event, along with three other chefs from senior-serving facilities in the county.Price was featured in the
Nov. 27 Cook’s Corner for a salmon croquette with lemon aoli sauce as well as an orange-glazed chicken.Dauch
has also been in the Corner once before, for a cherry-bedecked banana split pie.This time around, his
Throwdown dessert was Nutella and Banana Melt, which sounds like something Elvis Presley would have killed
for.“Those two items on the inside of white bread,” Dauch said, describing the preparation. “Grill it like
you would grilled cheese, with butter and a little bit of brown sugar on the outside” so it gets it nice and
toasty.There’s nothing casual about his approach to the annual competition, despite the fact that the
challenge is all in good fun.“I start thinking about it like now, for next year. By summer I start pulling
the actual menu together and getting recipes.”This year Dauch went for totally original dishes, nothing he
had ever served the local seniors before.“But tomorrow night we have cauliflower (on the regular dinner
menu) so I am going to go ahead and do the sage roasted” version from the Throwdown, he said one day last
week.For those who opt to make it as a side for their own dinner, Dauch offered a tip.“Add color to this
dish by using white, purple, and orange cauliflower,” he suggested.As for the watermelon and arugula salad,
it’s the kind of original idea that makes such good sense, flavor-wise, you wonder why nobody’s served it to
you before.“With any salad you are pre-dressing, wait until just before you serve to dress the salad,” Dauch
cautioned. “This will keep the salad from getting too moist.”Watermelon and Arugula Salad(6 servings)½ pound
arugula2 pounds seedless watermelon, 1 inch diced¼ cup candied walnuts1/3 cup olive oil¼ cup lemon juice1
teaspoon kosher salt½ teaspoon ground black pepper½ pound shaved Parmesan cheeseCombine the watermelon,
arugula, and walnuts in a large bowl. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, in a
small bowl. Toss the dressing into the watermelon and arugula. Shave the Parmesan cheese with a vegetable
peeler. When ready to serve, divide salad onto plates and top with shaved cheese.Sage roasted cauliflower(12
servings)¼ cup olive oil¼ cup sage leaves1 tablespoon kosher salt3 heads cauliflower, cut into florets6
tablespoons butter1 lemon, juiced and zest finely gratedHeat oil in a small pan until hot. Add sage and fry,
stirring until crisp. Lift out sage and drain on a paper towel. Transfer the oil to a large bowl. Let sage
cool and crumble with fingers into a small bowl. Stir in salt and set aside.Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place
a pan with an inch of water in the oven. Add cauliflower to oil in large bowl and toss until coated. Spread
out cauliflower onto a baking sheet and bake until browned, about 25 minutes.Melt butter in a small pan over
medium heat, stirring often. Cook butter until it smells toasty. Turn off heat and add the juice of the
lemon; stir well.Place cooked cauliflower in a large bowl, pour butter over and add lemon zest. Add half of
the sage salt and toss. Taste and season with remaining salt as needed.Tip: Add color to this dish by using
white, purple, and orange cauliflower.