Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
When It's Appropriate to Mix Tilapia and Whipped Cream
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 7, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 7, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
We didn't make it to the Central Park Zoo for the icy food-for-animals competition, but luckily Julia Meredith Levy did. She sent us a detailed report:
Ice replaced Iron in a Chef competition yesterday at Central Park Zoo. Fittingly, the contest's taste testers were Polar Bears Gus and Ida, weighing in at 1,000 and 700 pounds respectively. In the wild, their diets consist mainly of seals, eating as much as 100 pounds in one setting. On Sunday however in the Ice Chef Competition they had a more adventurous and scaled down menu of raw fillet Mignon, tilapia, peanut butter, whipped cream, Cheerios, and carrots to eat. The competition placed a guest chef from the Leaping Frog Café, who typically prepares food for the human visitors to the zoo, versus a zoo keeper in a race to prepare a "cake" for the bears.
The completed creations were tossed into the rocky water habitat almost as quickly as they werer prepared. Ida and Gus devoured the mid day treats, unusual for a pair who is typically fed in the evenings after visitors have departed for the day. And in case you were wondering who won the competition? The real winners were the zoo visitors who watched the meals prepared in front of the Polar Habitat.
And Rachael Ray competed in the Saturday Ice Chef event - does anyone know what she made? We think she'd be perfect for this, as it's all about jumbling together a bunch of stuff. Also, the menu does sound like stuff a little kid would think polar bears would like ("Uh, maybe some peanut butter...and fish... and Cheerios..."). We asked Julia if there was an official winner, but zoo didn't say - maybe the polar bears just immediately ate both cakes and it was a draw! Update: Sunday's competition was between zookeeper Gretchen Stoddard and Chef Gill from the Leaping Frog Cafe, and Gretchen won. On Saturday, Rachael Ray bested zookeeper Rich Camilli.
More Central Park Zoo events can be found here.
Photograph of bear with cake from Central Park Zoo's Chill Out 2005 event; photograph of fish cake from Julia Meredith Levy
Tagged
animals
bears
central park
central park zoo
competition
contest
events
food
On Saturday
On Sunday
polar bears
race
rachael ray
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
Independent booksellers are grappling with whether the big-box chain is a threat or an ally in the fight against Amazon.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 12:55 p.m. ET
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
By
Hannah Frishberg
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .