This story starts off with six young chefs who have joined together from New Orleans, Houston, Tulsa, and San Antonio. They have come together in hopes of coming out on top in a very regulated and controlled cooking competition. Here's the story  . . .

Each competitor received an identical mystery basket, permitting him or her to compose a three-course menu of their choice, to prepare for four (4) people which consisted of individual plates for an

• Appetizer,

• Main course, and

• Dessert.

Upon receiving the mystery basket, the competitors had to follow a designated timing schedule:

• 30 minutes to view the mystery basket and write a menu.

• 3 hours to prepare the dishes.

• 30-45 minutes to present the three individual courses, in 10-15 minute increments.

When number one receives his mystery basket, the clock starts.  Number two receives his basket approximately 10 minutes later, and so on down the line.  The 10 minute intervals keep the dishes coming before the judges at a continuous and steady pace for about 2 ½ hours. 

Additional details and explanation as to how this competition and scoring is conducted can be found in "Recent Events" of this particular event that took place in 2007.

Here is the rest of the story . . .

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The Mystery basket contents contained the following articles:

Dried Turkish Apricots

Rio Star Grapefruit

Meyer Lemon

Red Swiss Chard

Semi-Boneless Diamond "H" Quail

Whole Slab of Bacon

Prince Edward Island Black Mussels

Ancho Chile

Italian-Style Coarse Polenta

Baby Artichokes

These young chefs not only have the basket of mystery items to pick from. They also have anything they want out of the above rooms to compliment and contribute to their dishes.   Oh, they also had what most of you who work in the kitchen don't have . . . Dish washing experts (last photo)!   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let's peek in on these young chefs as they are preparing to do their thing in the kitchen. I will introduce you to each of these ambitious young individuals . . .

(click on any thumbnail to enlarge photo)

Crockett Wessels, Biga on the Banks

Joshua, Dupe Oyster House, New Orleans

Stew Navarre, The Grove, Houston

Halston Connella, Biga on the Banks

Sierra Segura Brasserie Pavil

Chris Brown, The Brasserie, Tulsa

Now let's take a look at all the staff and other necessary personnel needed to keep this event on track:

April Goess, Associate Directory of Education, Culinary Institute of America (CIA),

Kitchen Judge keeping a keen eye on everything

Shelley Grieshber, Director of Education CIA, Nelson Gonzales, Zinc; Cynthia Rodriguez CIA

Some of the Kitchen layout

The CIA coordinators keeping an eye on everything

Now let's take a look at some of the support staff, moms, dads, judges, and other supporters:

If you were not a judge, here is what was provided to munch on

Behind the glass door is where all the action is going on

If we peek behind the door we see Crockett Wessels running around

Ok, here we go. The plates are starting to come out of the kitchen

Here is what it all boils down to  . . . The number, the face, the dish, the judges . . .

1

2

3

4

5

7 (NO SIX)

Stew Navarre

Halston Connella

Joshua Cormier

Chris Brown

Sierra Segura

Crockett Wessels

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OK, that's it.  Let's take a look and see what conclusion the judges have come to.

The Judges with empty stomachs: Robby Nolan, Tangi Patton, Van Buren Clark, Steve Martin

This young fellow will be heading for Scottsdale Arizona June 11 for the national competition.  If he continues to excel over his competitors, he will be heading for New York City in October for the international event.  We wish chef Wessels the best of skill and luck for these upcoming events.

The End

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26 May 2009: Added comment and photo . . .

May 21, 2009: Shelley Grieshber, Director of Education CIA, receives appreciation for a job well done in the form of a check from Southwest Bailli Provincial Joel Klein and San Antonio Bailli Bill Salomon.