On April 3, team leader senior Nathan Lourie kicked off the first of five Top Chef competitions with what he called a sandwich themed menu. Last year Lourie won Top Chef with two seniors. Lourie has been working at Restaurant 108 for two years, as well as a restaurant called Jakes.

For the appetizer we ordered Hawaiian Chicken Sliders, which consisted of a sandwich with chicken, pineapple and bacon.The bread was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and the pineapple was slightly burnt, which was a nice touch.

For the main course we ordered Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with portobello mushroom caps, peppers, zucchini, red onion and smoked gouda. The bread was the same as that of the Hawaiian Chicken Sliders, and the vegetables were roasted very well. There were french fries on the side, which took away from the sophistication, but the taste did not disappoint.

For the final touch we ordered a vanilla chocolate chip ice cream sandwich. This was what we awaited with the most impatience and it exceeded all expectations. The ice cream was sweet but not overpowering, and the cookie was soft from the ice cream.

All in all this was a great way to kick off this competition. Oh! And the service was great, we were seated quickly and the food arrived in a timely fashion.