Stewart Barteau of St. Louis, Mo., says he doesn’t have time to watch cooking shows on TV. “I’m living it!” said the Joliet Job Corps culinary arts student.  Still, it’s a sure thing that he’ll be impressed when he meets internationally acclaimed chefs Robert Irvine of “Dinner Impossible” and Jamie Oliver of “The Naked Chef” at the ob Corps Culinary Arts and Iron Chef Competition on June 13-17, in the Atlantic City, N.J., area.

Attending the competition with Barteau are Cyrita Gillen of Bellwood, Teressia Bell of Chicago Heights and Angela Baca of Aurora. Chef instructor is Nicholas Daloia of Chicago, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.

“Each team is given a basket with veal chops, whole salmon, beets, black beans, stone ground grits and pears. We can use other products to make from scratch six servings of a soup or salad, three different entrees and dessert. We are buying our other products from local vore and Green purveyors. That means all are raised or grown within a hundred miles,” said Daloia, who has been a Green champion at the Joliet Center.

The students have been hard at work learning the recipes created by Chef Daloia and the team of four were chosen by “survival of the fittest,” as Daloia put it. “I may be Catholic, but I’m a fan of Darwin when it comes to the kitchen,” he said.

Joliet Job Corps Center hosted a Culinary Expo Day on June 9 at the Center on Mills Road for two professional chefs and 10 staff members to grade them on their work. Chef Linda Rosner, president of the Windy City chapter of the American Culinary Federation, watched the team from 8:15 a.m. to noon as they prepared their selections.

Chef Richard Naglich, chairman of the Chicago Chef de Cuisine chapter of ACF, arrived in time to give encouragement to the students. “The most important thing they need to work on is their timing,” said Rosner, who now caters after a long and distinguished career. “If you’re late, it won’t matter how good the food is.”

“It’s always a thrill to see what students are doing,” said Naglich, corporate chef for Whittingham and Son Meats out of Alsip. Teams representing 19 Job Corps centers in Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina will compete for the iron chef title and professional culinary tools during the annual competition.