Russell Bolar Jr. of The Black Watch room at Pebble Creek edged Blake Schar of the Woodfire Grill in this week's first preliminary Grill Master contest as part of the Home Grown Iron Chef competition.

The event took place Monday night at the Trinity at Terrace Park Farmers Market in Bettendorf.

The chef competitions are being hosted by the Scott Community College Foundation and the college's culinary arts program as a fundraising event that also showcases the value of cooking with fresh, locally grown food.

A total of eight area chefs are competing from 4 to 6 p.m. each Monday in July. They know in advance some of the farmers market produce and grocery items that will be available to them, but they do not know what the main ingredient will be until it is unveiled at 4:30 p.m. They then have one hour to prepare their dish on a grill for judging. Judges score each dish using a point system of 10 for taste, five for presentation and five for originality. One winner advances each week to the Final Showdown, scheduled for 1-5 p.m. Aug. 2, at the Isle of Capri Casino-Isle Center in Bettendorf.

Bolar won by four points Monday night. His specialty is seafood, and his favorite dish to create is a blackened salmon with sweet whiskey sauce. He was born in Chicago and raised in Rock Island. He received an associate's degree from Scott Community College.

During the Final Showdown, the four Grill Master Competition winners will prepare a dish to be judged by a visiting chef and two area judges. The final round will not include the use of a grill and will incorporate ovens.

This year's visiting chef is Paul Virant, the executive chef and owner of Vie Restaurant in Western Springs, Ill., near Chicago. In addition to judging the final competition, he will work with the Scott Community College culinary arts students to prepare tapas of several of his signature items to be enjoyed at the final event. He also will give a cooking demonstration.

Tickets to the Final Showdown are $40 per person and include Virant's cooking demonstration, a plate of delicious Savory and Sweet Tapas, and entertainment by ComedySportz.

To reserve a ticket, call (563) 441-4063. More information is available on the Web at www.eicc.edu/ ironchef.

The next competition on Monday, July 13, matches Chris Carton, the chef at Heritage Woods Senior Living Communities & Lighthouse of Silvis, Ill., with Steve Hall, the chef from Johnny's Italian Steakhouse in Moline. There is no cost to attend the preliminary competitions, and limited seating under tents will be available.