The participants: Senior Chris Prochak, freshman Jeffrey Hall and junior Fred Leffler; the time: 7pm; the secret ingredient: garlic.

Mix them together in the Ohio Union East Ballroom, set the timer for 55 minutes and wait for Ohio State’s Iron Chef competition to rise.

Sponsored by the Ohio Union Activities Board, last night’s battle of culinary wits pitted Prochak, OSU’s 2004 Iron Chef, against two challengers, Hall and Leffler, both of whom have held high-stress cooking positions.

Prochak’s experience comes from Mirror Lake Cafe and Subway.

Last year’s winning dish was comprised of Yukon Gold mashed potatoes with Shitaki mushrooms and a cream sauce, fajita-stuffed ancho-potato cakes and sautéed red potatoes.

An engineering student, Prochak said he does not consider himself a chef.

“I cook casually; it’s a little bit of a hobby,” he said.

Given 10 minutes of “prep time” and 45 minutes of cooking time, the chefs got working quickly, rushing from one side of the stage to the other, grabbing portions of a variety of ingredients provided them across the stage.

One random audience member was chosen for each chef to aid them in their quest for the title.

The most important rule of the competition was to incorporate garlic into the dishes that ultimately made their way to the four randomly chosen judges sitting just below the stage.

Senior Rich Bensman, juniors Mark Jacobs and Rachel Rasfeld and sophomore Travis Pennell were the lucky winners that earned the pleasure of tasting each dish.

Before the chefs knew it, time was up and the dishes moved to the scorers table.

Seemingly unfazed after each bite, every judge displayed some displeasure with at least one dish, attributing the error to “not enough garlic” or “no dressing on the salad.”

“The portions were too small,” judge Mark Jacobs said. “But it was good for the students; I was impressed.”

Prochak walked away the with the title for the second year after being graded on taste, originality, use of garlic and presentation.

His winning dish: Spicy garlic soup, sautéed green beans with garlic and pine nuts and a deconstructed garlic stir-fry with roasted red pepper, Shitaki mushrooms and chicken with roasted garlic.

“I was a little more nervous this year,” Prochak said. “To have the tittle and have to defend it puts a little more pressure on you.”

Though disappointed, Hall and Leffler both said they will be back next year.