The competition was tough. But the ostrich meat wasn't. The olfactory smack down called the Home Grown Iron Chef competition ended Sunday afternoon with Chef Eran Salzmann, of Z-Best Café on Main in Sheffield, Ill., named the winner.

About 200 guests gathered at the Isle Center at the Isle of Capri Casino and Hotel, Bettendorf, for the final rounds of the competition that resembled a show on the Food Network. They watched just inches away and also on huge video screens that provided mouth-watering closeups of chefs working their culinary magic on ostrich meat.

The event was a fundraiser for the Scott Community College Foundation. Lysa Hegland of Bettendorf, assistant to the president and foundation director, said the idea for the event came from state Rep. Linda Miller, who is a board member.

Chef Bradley Scott of Coal Valley, Ill., who directs the Culinary Arts Chef Apprenticeship Program at Scott, added the notion of supporting local markets. So, the first rounds of competition, starting with eight chefs, were held Mondays in July at the farmers market at Trinity at Terrace Park, Bettendorf.

Scott said Fox's television shows such as "Hell's Kitchen" have drawn more interest in cooking and food.

"This is a kickoff for our new culinary arts lab," he said, adding that Scott attracts "the hands-on learner." Students graduate with an associate's degree and a journeyman status. "I have 81 apprentices right now," he said. Scott, who has been at the college for 13 years, travels a 90-mile radius to work with and evaluate students throughout Iowa and Illinois.

Competitions build camaraderie among the chefs, he said.

"Every chef, at the core, is very competitive," said Visiting Chef Paul Virant, executive chef and owner of Vie Restaurant in Western Springs, Ill. "The restaurant business is competition," he said. Cooking and being a chef is more of a craft than an art form."

As their preparation deadline drew near, the chefs' hands began to blur as ingredients came together. Finally, the chefs were told "Utensils down. Hands up!" And the four remaining chefs - Chef Russell Bolar, of the Black Watch Room of Pebble Creek; Chef Chris Carton, of Heritage Woods & Lighthouse at Silvis; Sous Chef Phillip Austin of Davenport Country Club; and Salzmann; all placed their plates before the panel of judges.

You could cut the tension with - pardon the expression - a knife as the food was savored by judges Virant; Dr. Pat Kier, chancellor of Eastern Iowa Community College District; and Chef Robert Lewis, a Quad-Citian also known as "The Happy Diabetic." After a few minutes of tasting and tallying, Salzmann was declared the winner.

"I'm excited. I feel good!" said Salzmann, who was besieged by requests for photos and autographs and hugs of congratulations. "I work every day. I love to cook.

"I didn't really have anything in mind because I didn't know what the protein would be. I just winged it, pretty much."

In his restaurant, the kitchen's wide open, "but I've got to admit I was pretty freaking nervous today," he said.

Salzmann, who has been a chef for 24 years, donated his winnings of $300 back to the college for a scholarship to be established in his name.

Eventually, the goal is to host another such competition in the college's own facility, said Erin Snyder, of Davenport, assistant director for enrollment management for the district. "The exciting thing is how culinary arts has grown," she said. "We're not just training local students; we're training students that will go out and work all over the region."