NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- If CSP’s annual FARE Conference is all about bringing together operators from across the foodservice segments to talk about their businesses, then the event’s annual culinary competition is the embodiment of that mission.
Held on the opening night of last week’s conference, the culinary competition pitted teams of chefs against each other to determine who could prepare the best dish in an hour or less. The contestants—ranging from convenience store chefs to senior-living operators and restaurant chefs—were grouped into teams a week in advance, giving them a quick chance to exchange ideas and develop a game plan.
The winning team featured Clementine de Roode, executive chef of the United States Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., and Peyton Edmonson, commis chef, Sinema Restaurant and Bar in Nashville. They prepared a Southwestern-style Asian bulgogi wrap with fruited rice salad and a caramelized-onion and barbecue vinaigrette spring salad.
Taking its cue from the Korean dish of grilled and marinated beef, the mesquite-smoked beef brisket was seasoned with red wine vinegar, brown sugar, barbecue sauce, chipotle pepper and cilantro—“a nice sweet and hot combination,” said de Roode. “We cooled it with the sweet crisp peppers and topped them with sweet and spicy pickled onion.”
The rice was seasoned similar to sushi rice and mixed with pears, apples and sweet peppers. “The salad added color and finished the plate with something light, spicy and sweet,” said de Roode.
Participants were given 60 minutes to prepare, package and serve an original and innovative on-the-go-style meal item. They were judged on a 10-point scale in four categories, each weighted equally: taste, creativity and innovation, presentation and—a true FARE twist—portability/convenience: Dishes could be considered grab-and-go or made-to-order and either travel well for later consumption or be eaten easily on the go.
To create their dishes, teams had to use at least one product from sponsor companies Arcobasso Foods, Emmi Foodservice, McCormick for Chefs and Tyson. They had to serve their dishes in to-go containers provided by Georgia-Pacific Professional, and use the Ovention ovens situated at each teams’ station. A pantry of basic staples was also available.
Other participants and teams consisted of:
- Rich Daggett, CEO and president of Tasty Enterprises Inc., New York, and David Sparrow, culinary specialist for QuickChek Corp., Whitehouse Station, N.J.Dish: Creamy caramelized-onion mac and cheese and brisket sandwich.
- Edward Ziems, executive chef for M. Gibson Hotels in Knoxville, and Brandon Shackleford, food and beverage director for M. Gibson Hotels, Knoxville. Dish: Barbecue beef brisket pizza topped with a Caribbean jerk and wild greens salad.
- Mickey Sellard, executive chef/manager of dining services for Golden Living, Fort Smith, Ark., and Lisa Pickett, food and beverage category manager for Tri Star Energy LLC, Twice Daily & Daily’s, Nashville, Tenn. Dish: Chicken Alfredo sandwich with macerated peppers and tomatoes.
Judges for the culinary competition included:
- Ben Lucky, project manager-QSR for Maverik, North Salt Lake, Utah
- Sara Rush, senior associate editor for Restaurant Business magazine, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
- Kyle Patterson, executive sous chef for Sinema Restaurant & Bar, Nashville, Tenn.
- Neil Doherty, senior director of culinary development for Sysco Corp., Houston
- Pete Torres, sous chef, EatZi’s Market and Bakery, Dallas
“It was no easy feat to quickly transform the market-basket items into a portable and elevated dish in this year’s culinary competition, but all of the competitors did a great job,” said Rush. “Those that delivered the most craveable meals played with big, bold flavors, whether it was a tangy barbecue sauce or a sweet-and-spicy Asian glaze, both of which had me going back bite after bite.”
FARE also welcomed Steak Shapiro to the role of emcee for this year’s competition. A well-known character in Atlanta food circles, he is featured in two Food Network shows: “Food Truck FaceOff” and “Best.Ever.” Celebrity chef Robert Irvine took the stage during the next day’s general session to help announce the winning team.
Next year’s FARE conference will be held June 20-22 at the Gaylord Texan in Dallas. Stay tuned to www.fareconference.comfor details on the 2016 conference and culinary competition.
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