Residents and staff from the Belmont Village locations in the Bay Area cheer during an Iron Chef-style cooking competition held this month in Sunnyvale. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group) 

Three chefs had to trade their toques for thinking caps when Belmont Village Senior Living  hosted an “Iron Chef”-style competition this month in Sunnyvale.

Chefs Ellis Chavez, Paul Haas and Tony Amador were there to encourage healthy eating. But they had to get creative on a moment’s notice and figure out how to incorporate a secret ingredient — limes — into their recipes while residents from the Sunnyvale, Albany and San Jose locations watched and cheered them on.

In the end, chef Haas from Albany was awarded first place for his Moroccan spiced salmon with cranberry lime relish, sweet potato cake and seasonal vegetables.

After the competition, residents and staff moved to the cookie tent to nibble on cookies baked from favorite family recipes. The winner? Oatmeal Raisin Macadamia Nut.

Chef Ellis Chavez from the Sunnyvale Belmont Village Senior Living competes in this month’s contest. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group) 
Yasuko Takaki, 85, from the Belmont Village Senior Living complex in San Jose, applauds as the secret ingredient, lime, is announced during the cooking contest. The competition brought chefs, residents and staff from the Sunnyvale, San Jose, and Albany locations together for a day of culinary activities. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group) 
Chef Tony Amador from the San Jose Belmont Village Senior Living chops cucumbers while competing during this month’s event in Sunnyvale. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group) 

Source: www.mercurynews.com