Monona Terrace Catering chef Joel Zink took first place in the Heavy Metal Chef competition at Monona Terrace, Madison, Wis., on Nov. 8. The catering company hosted the contest to raise money for the city's charity combined campaign, with the winning chef's charity receiving proceeds from ticket sales. Zink gave his first-place $975 check to Sustain Dane, a nonprofit organization committed to creating sustainable communities.
Chef Joel Zink with his winning dish after the Heavy Metal Chef competition
The secret ingredient was short ribs. Zink's winning dish was roasted short ribs with an artichoke purée, vegetable ragout, peppernata and red wine veal reduction.
Chef Mark Bodinet from Copperleaf Restaurant at Cedarbrook Lodge won "Best of Show" and First Place Shoulder at the second annual American Lamb Jam on Oct. 24. All told, 21 Seattle chefs competed against Bodinet (pictured) in this year's event.
Chef Bodinet's winning recipe was grilled American lamb shoulder confit with creamy parsnips and preserved huckleberries. Other recipes that received accolades were:
- First Place Leg: The Georgian Room, pepper and lovage crusted smoked leg of lamb kebob with tomato basil crostini;
- First Place Shank: BOKA Kitchen + Bar, lamb shank sloppy joe; and
- People's Choice/First Place Loin: Barking Frog, Northwest chanterelle and lamb loin prosciutto pot pie with sous vide lamb loin and fig demi.
Bodinet will head to New York City to battle winning chefs from around in the country in a master Lamb Jam competition in 2011.
Chef Mark Bodinet's grilled American lamb shoulder confit with creamy parsnips and preserved huckleberries
"We are honored and humbled by this recognition from Couteaux Review," said executive chef Anthony Keene in a statement. "Our high standards stem not only from our commitment to providing our customers with the best-quality foods possible, but also from supporting the use of our natural resources for a better future."
Couteaux Review, established by executive chef Jason Kwon, works closely with local food communities to build and foster stronger networks between restaurants, chefs, purveyors and local food enthusiasts. Visit www.couteauxreview.com.
Spring restaurant, a Chicago mainstay restaurant for more than a decade, will close its doors after New Year's Eve service.
Founding chef Shawn McClain intends to focus on his other Chicago venture, the vegetarian-focused restaurant Green Zebra, as well as his Las Vegas restaurant Sage at Aria, saying in a statement that he will split his time between the two.
Through November and December, Spring will offer a special menu made up of some of
the most popular Asian-inspired New American dishes over the years. For more information, visit www.springrestaurant.net.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed Endangered Species Act protection for the rayed bean and the snuffbox, two freshwater mussels found in river systems in the eastern United States.
The rayed bean (pictured, right) is found in rivers in Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, as well as Ontario, Canada. It has disappeared from 75 percent of the streams in which it was historically found.
The snuffbox (pictured, left) is found in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada. This species has disappeared from 65 percent of its historical range.
Threats to both species have been attributed to loss and degradation of stream and river habitat due to impoundments, channelization, chemical contaminants, mining and sedimentation. Freshwater mussels require clean water, and their decline often signals a decline in the water quality of the streams and rivers they inhabit.
The proposal was published on Nov. 2 in the Federal Register. If the two mussels are listed under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will work with partners to conserve their habitats. For more information, visit www.fws.gov.
Following an eight-day cooking exam at The Culinary Institute of America, five chefs from Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire and West Virginia have been named Certified Master Chefs (CMC) by the American Culinary Federation (ACF).
(l to r) ACF announces new CMCs Brian Beland, Robert Mancuso, Brian Sode and Daniel Dumont
The chefs who passed the exam are:
- Brian Beland, CMC, executive chef, Country Club of Detroit, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.; ACF Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association
- Daniel Dumont, CMC, corporate chef, Ocean Properties Ltd. Hotels and Resorts, Portsmouth, N.H.; ACF Piscataqua Chapter
- Robert Mancuso, CMC, executive chef, The Country Club, Chestnut Hill, Mass.; ACF Epicurean Club of Boston
- Richard Rosendale, CMC, executive chef, The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs; ACF National Chapter
- Brian Sode, CMC, AAC, executive chef, The Bear's Club, Jupiter, Fla.; ACF National Chapter
New CMC Richard Rosendale accepts his plaque.
The minimum passing score for the exam is 75 points out of 100. For chefs to keep the CMC title, they must recertify every five years, documenting 80 hours of continuing education.
Philadelphia interior design firm JAGR:Projects of Rittenhouse Square won first place interior design award from the Pennsylvania East Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers for chef Marc Vetri's Amis Trattoria.
The bar at Amis Trattoria
"We designed Amis to be an easy, social space--not overwrought," Michael Gruber of JAGR in a statement. "We retained the concrete and original windows and found the lighting fixtures at salvage yards. The tables were scraps from a cabinetmaker's shop that we glued together and the artwork is old industrial molds that we found. It is sustainable and comfortable."
For more information, visit www.asidpaeast.org.
Share Our Strength, the nonprofit organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America, announced the 2010 Leadership Awards during its annual Conference of Leaders, held Oct. 17 to 18 in Washington, D.C.
Volt chef/owner Bryan Voltaggio makes his acceptance speech at the Share Our Strength Conference of Leaders
The awards recognize community volunteers, companies, and corporate executives who have made a significant impact on the nonprofit’s work to end childhood hunger in the United States. Among the foodservice industry winners were:
- 2010 Share Our Strength's A Tasteful Pursuit Leadership Award--Stephan Pyles, Stephan Pyles Restaurant, Samar by Stephan Pyles, Dallas, Texas
- 2010 Share Our Strength's Great American Dine Out Leadership Award--Diana Hovey, senior vice president of marketing, Corner Bakery Café, Dallas, Texas
- 2010 Share Our Strength's Fundraising Innovation Leadership Award--Marc Buehler, CEO, Kona Grill, Scottsdale, Ariz.
- 2010 Share Our Strength's Advocate of the Year--Ray Blanchette, CEO, Ignite Restaurant Group, Houston, Texas
- 2010 Share Our Strength's Chef/Restaurateur of the Year--Bryan Voltaggio, chef/owner, Volt, Frederick, Md.
- 2010 Share Our Strength's Humanitarian of the Year--Jody Adams, chef/owner, Rialto Restaurant, Cambridge, Mass.
Rialto chef/owner Jody Adams accepts her award
For a complete list of the winners, visit www.strength.org/conference.
At City Harvest's 16th annual Bid Against Hunger restaurant tasting event on Oct. 19, the organization raised nearly $1.1 million. The money raised will provide food for more than 4.5 million meals for New York City's hungry.
The sold-out event, which took place at Manhattan's Metropolitan Pavilion, featured chefs and culinary experts from over 70 of Manhattan and Brooklyn's top restaurants, including Le Bernardin, Tribeca Grill, Craft, Blue Hill, Buttermilk Channel and Landmarc. The walk-around tasting and auction provided guests with the opportunity to see some of the city's top chefs in action.
City Harvest is the world's first food rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the city's hungry men, women, and children.
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Chef's Stirrings is the official blog of Chef Magazine, the industry publication for restaurant and foodservice professionals. The blog offers culinary news and online exclusives from the editors ofChef.
Chef Joel Zink with his winning dish after the Heavy Metal Chef competition
Chef Mark Bodinet's grilled American lamb shoulder confit with creamy parsnips and preserved huckleberries
The snuffbox (pictured, left) is found in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada. This species has disappeared from 65 percent of its historical range.
(l to r) ACF announces new CMCs Brian Beland, Robert Mancuso, Brian Sode and Daniel Dumont
New CMC Richard Rosendale accepts his plaque.
The bar at Amis Trattoria
Volt chef/owner Bryan Voltaggio makes his acceptance speech at the Share Our Strength Conference of Leaders
Rialto chef/owner Jody Adams accepts her award
Cesare Casella, executive chef/partner of Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto; Eric Ripert, chef/owner of Le Bernardin; Gail Simmons, host of Bravo's "Top Chef: Just Desserts;" Marc Murphy, chef/owner of Landmarc; and City Harvest executive director Jilly Stephens 