Last night, some co-workers and I went head-to-head against six other agencies in a culinary showdown of sorts. Four of the teams (ours included) worked on Menu B, while the three other groups attempted Menu A. I am proud to say my team beat out all the other Menu B teams; however, when it came down to us and the Menu A winner, the another agency took home the grand prize.
Since we're talking about the prizes, I have to admit, I'm not all too sad we brought home the silver. The final two teams each won the same amount of prize money, but the grand prize winner also took home medals and a bronzed pan. Trophies are nice, but what I really wanted was the money, anyway.
The most exciting part of the challenge was actually being judged. The panel of judges was made up of the executive chef and sous chef from Metrazur and the executive chef of Aureole (who had an awesome seersucker chef's coat, and if you've read my About Me page, you know I love seersucker). These are two of the nicest restaurants in the city. It's hard enough to get these men to cook for you; and here they are, eating my food. Not just eating, complimenting. One chef took a bite and said, and I quote, "Mmm, it's good." As another was about to dip his fork into our dish, he remarked, "They charred the tomatoes. That's cool." You can't see me, but I'm patting myself on the back right now since I was manning the tomatoes.
Last night spurred some activity ideas: I want to have my own Top Chef competition among friends. It would be a new twist on game night. I would also like to take more classes at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), which is where the event was held. If anyone wants to pony up the cash (I think it's somewhere in the $125 range), I would love a buddy.
I still think our dish should have won, and I am ready for a rematch - anytime, anyplace. See below for pics of our bread salad and roasted tomato/herb/goat cheese pasta.
sounds like a great time, and the entries look yummy ~ care to recreate?!
ReplyDeletemwk