VIDALIA &8212; And the secret ingredients are &8230; coconut, shrimp and asparagus.

By the time most people would start wondering what to do with those three ingredients, Doug Hosford and Brad Seyfarth, ably assisted by four Co-Lin hospitality students, were busy making two dishes featuring them.

Hosford, of High Cotton Catering, and assistants Mallory Smith and Julia Tyler won the 2005 Co-Lin Iron Teams Competition, a cooking contest loosely based the Food Network show Iron Chef. Seyfarth, of Dunleith, with Stan Crawford and China Gahr, finished second in the competition.

&8220;I&8217;m happy to win,&8221; Hosford said. &8220;It&8217;s all very subjective. As long as we had a good time and made some good food, that&8217;s good.&8221;

The teams, composed of guest chefs and students from the Co-Lin Natchez Hospitality/Tourism Management Technology Program, competed Wednesday in the second edition of the competition. Hospitality instructor Nancy Best said the competition is fun for the school to put on.

&8220;This gives us a chance to show what we do here and let the community know,&8221; Best said.

Each team had a variety of ingredients &8212; including the secret ingredients &8212; at their disposal for the 35-minute competition. The teams were judged on teamwork, presentation and taste.

Team Hosford made spicy Thai coconut bisque with coconut milk, red pepper, garlic, milk and shrimp, and a marinated, poached asparagus served with a gribiche, a traditional sauce, over it. The gribiche, an egg, butter and lemon sauce, also contained sauteed shrimp, onion and bell pepper. Hosford used balsamic vinegar as a decorative touch to &8220;set off the color&8221; on the plate.

Team Seyfarth&8217;s dishes were a sauteed shrimp with bell pepper in coconut milk reduced with milk and a balsamic vinegar-glazed asparagus with shrimp.

For Hosford and Tyler, it was a repeat of last year&8217;s victory, when the team

Hosford said the coconut, a variety called Thai coconuts, inspired his dishes.

&8220;I saw the ingredients I thought traditional Thai flavors,&8221; Hosford said.

Seyfarth said the theme ingredients didn&8217;t necessarily work in his favor.

&8220;I&8217;ve never cooked with coconuts before,&8221; Seyfarth said. &8220;I did have some idea what to do with them. I had planned to do a soup with the coconut something like what Doug made.&8221;

Seyfarth may also have been hampered by a spill at the midpoint of the competition that left some vegetables and shrimp on the floor, forcing him to redo some of his work.

&8220;It happens sometimes,&8221; Seyfarth said. &8220;At the restaurant there&8217;s always something where you have to make something quick for your customers.&8221;

Hosford said he looks forward to defending his title again next year. For Seyfarth, he said he would love to be asked to come back again.