2110 - Southwest Regional
Jeune Commis Competition Dinner
Penthouse at
Charles Court next to Zinc.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
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What is it? The Jeune Commis dinner is the final event in the evening after the completion of the Jeune Commis chef competition. By this time, the tasting judges will have made their final decision and one chef will have been selected as the winner of this event. All chefs participating in the cook-off will be top local chefs selected by the participating Bailliages of the Regional event.
What's the Purpose? The purpose of the Jeune Commis competition is to encourage and promote the culinary expertise of young Commis des Rôtisseurs (Chefs of the Grill) by exposing them to a competitive environment with their peers. The competition will offer the opportunity for the young chefs to showcase their talents and creativity in a fair, unbiased, and professional forum.
Previous Competitions: This annual event has detailed coverage, concerning chef qualifications, age limitations, mystery ingredients basket, cooking and food preparation time limits, judges & judging, and the top winners for the previous years 2007, 2008, and 2009. For those of you who would like to further explore the rules and regulations of this competitive event, please see "Recent Events" and scroll down to those particular stories. This story will cover just the participants, the judges, the winner, and the celebration dinner.
The SW Regional Jeunes Commis Rôtisseurs Judges:
Robbie Nolin: The Lodge Restaurant, Winner of the San Antonio Jeune Commis competition 2007 and 2008
Moe Lazri: Fig Tree, Little Rhein, Director, Manager, Chef,
Tanji Patton: Emmy award-winning journalist, investigative reporter, news anchor, Goodtastewithtanji.com
Steven Goldberg: Gastronome
John Marotta: Argyle Club
Hinnerk Von Bargen: Instructor Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio
The Chef's Mystery Basket:
Nima Ranch Poussin Rouge Fermiere (2 ea)
Avocado (6 ea)
Whole Gulf Red Snapper (2 ea)
Chilaca Chilies (2 lbs)
Piloncillo (1 cone)
Rio Star Grapefruit (4 ea)
Tamarind Pulp (1/2 -Pack)
The SW Regional Jeune Commis Rôtisseurs Competitors
Joshua Cormier: Dupuy's Oyster Shop, Abbeville, Louisiana // Competed last year in the Regional Cook off
Ryan Hallsted: Ray's Grill, Fulshear, Texas
Phil Wheeler: The Rancher's Club, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Christopher White: Polo's Signature American Cuisine, Houston, Texas
Sierra Segura: Pavil Restaurant and Bar, San Antonio, Texas // Competed last year in the Regional Cook off
Crockett Wessels: Biga on the Banks, San Antonio Texas // Winner 09 Regional Cook off, 2nd Place 08 San Antonio
Gavin Librant: Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio, Texas
Joe Gallero: The Lodge Restaurant of Castle Hills, San Antonio, Texas
One last word on the chef cooking competition before taking a peek at the celebration and awards dinner that took place that evening.
Last year's cooking competition, as well as this year's cooking competition, was held at the CIA building, home of the Central Intelligence Agency: the CIA, like other U.S. intelligence agencies, has the responsibility to protect intelligence sources and . . . wait a minute, wait a minute! Not that CIA. . . . .
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. . . . . This CIA: The Culinary Institute of America
When the San Antonio Culinary Institute of America was in the initial planning stages, someone suggested that "Since San Antonio is the gateway to Latin American, why don't we specialize in Latin cuisine." Well, while some people may question the exact location of the Latin American gateway, that suggestion became the initial goal of the San Antonio CIA:
"Elevate 'Latin American cuisine' to its rightful place among the great cuisines of the world"
The photo above actually shows two buildings: the small one in the front is the current location of the CIA. The one in the rear is the CIA under construction and is a 30 million dollar upgrade. The building in the rear will be the new home of the San Antonio CIA.
Let's take a look at "what is" and "where is" the San Antonio CIA:
The San Antonio CIA is set among numerous restored 19th century buildings which were once part of the Pearl Brewery. It is located on the San Antonio River just north of downtown. This 20-acre Pearl Brewery site is now being developed into a exciting center that will be filled with cafés, schools, lofts, services, and events. The CIA classrooms and kitchens are state-of-the-art, dedicated to real-world experiences, creating an ideal setting for learning.
Take another look at the photo above. We have Bailli Provincial Joel Klein, Conseiller Culinaire Provincial Randy Matthews, CIA staff personnel that coordinated the CIA responsibilities, and Bailli Bill Salomon. By the way, the name of this photo is "Hey guys, thanks for a job well done!" Let's now skip directly to the evening celebration and awards dinner.
The Celebration/Awards Dinner
Click on any thumb nail photo to enlarge
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The Contestants: Back Row: Phil Wheeler; Joe Gallero; Gavin Librant; Crockett Wessels; Front Row: Chis White; Sierra Segura; Ryan Hallsted; Joshua Cromier |
Let's all give a big hand for Southwest Provincial Bailli Joel Klein for this great event that we just completed |
Bailli Bill Salomon speaking: I second that. Stand up Joel and take a bow! Great Job! |
Bailli Bill Salomon speaking. . . Joel, here's the date for next year's event. We need to start planning right after dessert. | We also want to thank all our judges. . . Humm, they don't seem to be eating very much tonight. |
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| Ok, contestants, look up here. We're going to announce SW Region - #1 Jeune Commis | Randy Mathews honors the first Place winner: Joe Gallero, The Lodge Restaurant at Castle Hills, San Antonio. A Robbie Nolin protégé. | Tanji Patton Judge, Joe Gallero 2010 winner; Sierra Segura 2009 participant; Crockett Wessels 2009 winner (Biga on the Banks) | Bailli William Salomon, Hon. VC de Presse Judy Salomon, John Marotta - Argyle, Andreas Esparza - Budros, H Von Bargen - Judge C.I.A. w/wife Ming | GG &George; Moe & April Lazri; Bailli Provincial Joel Klein & Hon VC Missions Carol Klein, Jim & Vivian Ray, Andreas Esparza |
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This is the end of the story. The Highlights of the Evening were:
Lowlights of the Evening were traffic & parking, but what can you expect of downtown in the 8th largest city in the United States. It seems that more than one event was going on that evening. I believe we had "Las Luminarias: The lighting of the path for the Holy Family, a tradition that has been enacted since the 1500s, and the Saint Patrick's Day Parade. Yep, a great night for the Irish pubs, plus we had the usual Saturday night crowd, howeverrrr, A great time was had by all! (Ain't that right Gary and Viv Barnes?) Whoops, I just scanned the photos, and I can't seem to find Gary or Viv. Hey, what happened to you guys??
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| The Pattons, Tanji & Mike; The Goldners, Fred and Sandy; The Matthews, Randy and Diane; The Milbourns Mark and Cathy | Ted Nass, Maureen
Stein; Harold & Mary Bartholomeu (Louisiana) Carmen & Steven
Goldberg . . (Whoops, What happened to Steven? He must have fallen
out of his chair!) |
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