Member Chef Walter Royal
Wins Iron Chef America!
The winning menu included: ostrich burgers, ostrich satay with peanut sauce and coleslaw, ostrich pot pie with cornbread and black pepper honey, ostrich fillet with turnips and watercress and chocolate soufflé made with ostrich egg. The ostrich burger was a Southwestern flavored burger with horseradish ketchup, Creole mustard and homemade potato chips. The ostrich satay had an Asian influence with a peanut dipping sauce, soy and ginger marinade and spicy coleslaw. The third course had a Southern influence and was pot pie comfort food with herbed puff pastry and Chef Royal’s grandmother’s cracked pepper honey. The ostrich fillet included a whiskey-shallot broth reduction, with mashed turnips, rutabagas and wilted watercress on the side.
Kitchen Stadium competition is in real time allowing Chef Royal only 60 minutes to prepare the five course meal. There are no “re-takes” and no second chances so the “heat” was on. Though his on-camera presence radiated the calmness of Buddha, Chef Royal described himself as “scared to death.” He states that facing the cameras and the live audience 
was pretty tense. His goal was to represent “us Southern gentlemen and ladies well” so he just went “into his zone” and lost all track of time until the 5 minute buzzer went off. Chef Royal is known to favor good Bourbon and lead his team in a celebratory toast in the final seconds of competition.
As part of the show’s protocol, the chefs are told in advance of three possible theme ingredients. With this prior knowledge the chefs can conceptualize dishes, create menus and order items from the show’s pantry before the competition begins. The theme ingredients that Chef Royal planned for were peanuts, arctic char (a fish related to salmon and trout) and ostrich. Chef Royal was hoping peanuts would be selected but ended up with ostrich, his last choice.
Chef Royal treated the ostrich like aged beef tenderloin, never over-cooking the meat, and he kept his flavors simple and straightforward. Because aged beef is an Angus Barn tradition, his experience offered him years of valuable knowledge of technique and palette pleasing approaches. He says that his Southern background has taught him to “stay in the box” of honoring the food’s integrity. He states that “if one has fresh ingredients straight from the garden, why try to disguise it?”
In one anecdote about the intense pressure of the competition, Chef Royal described the dismay of looking at his soufflé base. Royal says making a soufflé base is usually second nature – so he could not understand why his chocolate
version looked like “black mud.” Although he had gone into his cooking zone, which is well developed by serving 1500 persons daily at the Angus Barn, he knew the soufflé was not coming together. Fortunately, Sous Chef Julia Strickland called him over to assist with a piece of equipment and Walter found the ostrich egg yolk sitting unused in a bowl. He recalls smiling and as soon as he added the wayward ostrich yolk, his soufflé came together and was a winner.
By tradition, the challenging chef gets to choose his opponent from reigning Iron Chefs America Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto, Mario Batali and Cat Cora. Chef Royal selected Cora because she is also a native of the South. Cora is from Mississippi and Royal hails from Alabama. He thought it would be fun to “go head to head with another ‘over-the-top’ Southern chef.” To Chef Royal’s surprise, Cora chose a Mediterranean slant to her Iron Chef menu.
Royal was assisted in preparing his winning menu by Sous Chefs Julia Strickland, Alan McSwain and Chris Thanhauser, the 12 year old son of Angus Barn owner Van Eure. Walter credits each of his sous chefs for his win, stating that Julia was his “magic person behind the scenes.” With over 3000 items in the show’s pantry, Julia was the runner bringing the needed ingredients. Alan, who has worked at the Angus Barn for 7 years, can anticipate Chef Royal’s thoughts in advance. McSwain thrives in high pressure situations and keeps Chef Royal grounded. A “secret weapon” was bringing 12 year old Chris. Chris loves the kitchen, is a participant in the Angus Barn young chef’s mentor program and Chef Royal could see the shock in the other competitors’ faces when they realized Chris was a part of his team. Little did they know that Chris comes to life in the kitchen and can hold his own in preparation activities. Chef Royal predicts that Chris will replace him one day as the Angus Barn executive chef and states Chris is a future Iron Chef winner.
The judging was, of course, nerve racking. Chef Royal felt a bit nervous when Vogue columnist Jeffrey 
Steingarten verbally noted he was a bit under impressed upon seeing the first course. Judge Steingarten murmured, “Burgers?” However, Steingarten tasted the burger, smiled and stated, “Anybody who had the nerve to make homemade potato chips is all right with me.” At that point, Chef Royal began to feel increased confidence in his chosen style and menu.
Royal’s background includes a life time of wanting to be a chef. After following the family advice to get a traditional education at La Grange College, Chef Royal put himself through Dupree’s Cooking School in Atlanta. He moved to Raleigh, North Carolina to work with R. B. and Jenny Finch at the Fearrington House. He then worked for 5 years with Ben Barker at the Magnolia Grill in Durham, NC. Royal opened Crescent Café in Durham, NC which “may have been a bit ahead of its time.” He then worked at the Inn at Bonnie Bray in Durham. In 1996, Van Eure called him to be the Executive Chef at the Angus Barn, Raleigh, NC. At the Angus Barn, Chef Royal found his professional family and a dedication to “community give back” that fits his style.
Chef Royal is well known in the Triangle area for mentoring new chefs and promoting their success. He states,
“To me, supporting the community is the biggest reason for what I do. At the Angus Barn we give back in many ways. If I can inspire a younger chef or a young kid into the profession, then I have done my job.” At Triangle Bailliage events, Royal often arrives in his whites and works as sous chef in the kitchen rather than sitting with other members in the front of the house. He notes young chefs are very nervous when preparing their first dinner for the Triangle Bailliage and he really enjoys working in the kitchen beside them to help them be at their best. Those of us who venture into the kitchen to take Triangle Bailliage event photographs can testify to the camaraderie enjoyed by the chefs - despite the intense focus required when preparing a seven course dinner for a sophisticated audience that is expecting both stellar food and precise service.
Although Chef Royal’s win on “Iron Chef America” has made him a Triangle celebrity, he is still quite low key. Chef Royal seems to be most at home supporting the success of other chefs who are “rising stars” rather than being one.
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