A contest in which everyone wins

The challenge was to make a dinner that was both tasty and environmentally friendly. (Photos by Wiqan Ang for the Boston Globe)

ARLINGTON - Would the locavores be talking trash at the Energy Smackdown? Something like, "Hey, your mother buys kiwis from Australia." Instead, a fresh-faced little boy, walking into the competition, was asking someone if he had a garden and grew tomatoes.

The yearlong Energy Smackdown, sponsored by the BrainShift Foundation of Medford, challenged three volunteer teams of 10 families each from Cambridge, Medford, and Arlington to compete in reducing their energy consumption. September's challenge, the second of four, was to present a meal for 20 that included an appetizer, main course, two sides, salad, dessert, and a beverage. Teams were assessed 20 percent on taste, 20 percent on presentation, and 60 percent on carbon footprint - or how much energy was expended in producing the food and getting it to the table. The event took place at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church.

The teams enlisted gardeners for help and each was assigned a coach: Cambridge food consultant Julia Shanks developed a menu and cooked with the Cambridge team; Medford captain Rosemarie Cerundolo shopped at a farmer's market with chef Vittorio Ettore of Bistro 5 in Medford; and the Arlington team had a test dinner with Bob Sargent of Flora. Team captain Laurel Kayne called the chef "a real straight-shooter who gave us great practical advice."

Judges included Betsy Block, author of "The Dinner Diaries," and Jamey Lionette of Lionette's Market in the South End. The food was simple and pretty, "clean," as one of the judges described it: crusty homemade bread; rainbow-hued heirloom tomatoes; an Indian raita made with beets instead of cucumbers, which made it day-glo pink; two bright gazpachos; and vibrant salads.

Cambridge team co-captain Patty Nolan said that when team families were planning, children "were mostly interested in dessert." Those were a jewel-toned plum crisp made by one of the younger contestants, Medford's 13-year-old Bailey Lee, as well as a rosy wine-poached pear nuzzling a tiny meringue, and raspberry sherbet in cookie cones dipped in dark chocolate.

Eggplant parmesan, a frittata dense with greens and potatoes, and a zingy falafel with fresh garden herbs were the entrees presented. One judge said that what was striking about the food was how easily it could be replicated at home. Beef, pork, and poultry were used sparingly in the menus. "Meat accounts for 20 percent of our energy use," said BrainShift director Donald Kelley. The teams used it more as a condiment. Medford put bacon in a green bean dish, the two other teams had chicken in side dishes.

The scores were close, but in the final count, Arlington came in first, then Cambridge, then Medford. Individual dishes were also judged, solely on taste and presentation. Third place went to a tangy salad of greens topped with candied walnuts and dried cranberries, by Medford's Cerundolo, second place to a silken curried winter squash soup nestled in acorn squash cups on a bed of fresh sage from Cambridge's Katherine Oh. "She cooked it with a baby in her arms," yelled Nolan as Oh stepped forward. First place went to the sherbet-filled dipped cookie-cones, by Arlington's Elizabeth Heichler. The raspberries used in the sherbet had their own story: They came from Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, from a patch recently rescued from development. (The pick-your-own patch is weeded and tended by volunteers.)

At the end of the day, kids were helping to drag out the recycling, and team members were exchanging information on community supported agriculture programs and where to get good mozzarella. There was still food to be divvied up. This is a contest where everyone wins.

For more information, go to www.energysmackdown.com.