Baltimore County Teacher Faces Off Against Oriole Adam Jones In Annual Cook-Off
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Baltimore Oriole Adam Jones traded in his bat for some cooking knives for a day when he battled a fan during his annual cook-off.
Jones chose his competitor from amongst his fans, but he made it clear: He came to win.
The cook-off at Dempsey's, is an annual event for Jones, the defending champion.
The Oriole outfielder battled a Baltimore County high school teacher, whose signature dish is a salmon avocado pamini.
"I was really going to be nice to him until I heard he was talking smack about me. Now i'm really going to compete," said Sparrows Point High School teacher Kelly Karwacki.
"Sometimes you've just got to add some charm and that's what this city is. I'm about to see if I can win these judges over with a nice, good corn beef," Jones said.
[Reporter: "What's it gonna take to win?"]
"I think the bread. The kind of bread they use. I'm a big fan of bread," said Christopher Person, sous chef for Dempsey Brew Pub.
"Adam Jones makes a lot of money. Maybe slide us a couple buck here and there," judge Mike Bordick said. "It's a little bit of everything. You know, baseball, the community and good food."
The CareFirst Fan Challenge promotes fresh ingredients and healthy eating.
[Reporter: "She said she's a fan of yours. You still want to beat her?"]
"Yeah. We ain't talking about baseball right now. We're talking about food," Jones said.
[Reporter: "So what would you say to people that say 'oh it's just a sandwich. He really doesn't know how to cook?'"]
"OK. Come eat it," Jones said.
Jones ultimately won the competition.
"I'd like to congratulate Ms. Kelly on a terrific effort. I'm not going to say anything about her effort. Her effort was top notch, but at the end of the day the results swayed my way," he said.
"This was an opportunity for us to showcase the school and get the students involved, show them that when you put yourself out there, good things can happen," Karwacki said.
Karwacki had some practice before the cook-off. She's the advisor for her school's culinary club. She is fan of the O's and said she met her husband three decades ago at an Orioles' game.
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