This month, we are excited to welcome new contributor and monthly columnist Chef Mayhem…

Chef Mayhem (Derek Mason) is a culinary artist born and raised in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. He operated a food truck called ‘Melted Mayhem’ for a few years at Archie’s Golf course in town, which specialized in grilled cheese sandwiches, potato puffs, burgers, chillis and soups.

The Chef decided to close up shop in 2019 to start focusing on creating BBQ rubs and spices under the same name. In 2021 he began to sell a variety of flavours at The Cornwall Waterfront Farmers Market along with his website www.meltedmayhem.com.

He also created a YouTube channel which features recipe videos for some of his dishes, including the one featured today!

The ‘Figgy Piggy’ grilled cheese sandwich was what the food truck was most known for. A perfect combination of sweet and savoury to satisfy his customers’ cravings, which you can now make from the comfort of your home!

FIGGY PIGGY (2-4 servings)

Ingredients:

Sourdough bread

Butter

1 pack of bacon

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 pack of figs

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup water

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup goat cheese

1/2 cup cream cheese

1. First start by chopping the bacon into a medium dice. Put bacon into frying pan on medium-high heat and cook until most of the fat is rendered. Add brown sugar and maple syrup and cook for 1 minute or until thick and bubbly.
2. In a small sauce pot add white sugar and water. Heat on medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved. Once cool, add the sugar water to the figs and blend on high heat until the figs are a nice smooth paste.
3. Mix together the goat cheese and cream cheese until blended and smooth.
4. Butter 2 slices of bread, spread goat cheese/cream cheese mix on one slice. Next spread 1 tsp of fig jam over the goat cheese/cream cheese. Spoon on 1 tbsp of the candied bacon. Add mozzarella cheese onto the candy bacon. Finish off with the other slice of buttered bread.
5. Heat your frying pan/panini press/flattop at a medium-high heat. Grill the sandwich evenly on both sides until golden brown, crispy with the cheese melted.
6. Enjoy and repeat until you run out of mixture. It should make 2-4 sandwiches depending on how generous you are with the fillings!