By Jim Ray, Chevalier (February 10, 2007)
The purpose of this 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. This competition will offer the opportunity for the Jeunes Commis (young chefs) to showcase their talents and creativity in a fair, unbiased, and professional forum.
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This year’s cooking competition was held at the St. Philip’s College Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Arts School. The competitors were made up of seven young chefs, who are 26 years of age or younger and must not reach their 27th birthday prior to September 01, 2007. These individuals were selected, in conjunction with the San Antonio Bailliage, by their restaurant management for their overall talents as chefs. They competed against each other, and the winner of this event qualified to compete for the Best Chef of the Southwest Region. Dates and locations of the future competitions are as follows:
A young chef winning the national or international top-chef award can just about write his own ticket from that point on. Only one U.S. competitor is allowed to participate in the international competition.
How do these young chefs compete, and how are they judged?
Each competitor receives an identical mystery basket, permitting them to compose a three-course menu of their choice, prepared for four (4) people and consisting of individual plates for
Upon receiving the mystery basket, the competitors need to follow a designated timing schedule:
Each competing chef is given a random number from one to seven. This particular number is the only identification for the dishes as they are presented before the judges. 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.
The Mystery Basket for this event consisted of the following ingredients:
8 oz. Lump crab meat
4 ea. Lobster tails, small
1 lb. Mussels
4 ea. Veal rack, rib chops, Frenched
4 oz. Pomegranate molasses
1c. Quinoa
10 oz. Fresh spinach
8 oz. Oyster mushrooms
2 ea. Acorn squash, medium to small size
4 oz. Lemon grass
4 ea. Apples, Gala
4 oz. Hazelnuts
1 box Phyllo dough
In addition to the above mystery items, the chefs have a central kitchen in which to choose from over 70 ingredients, such as spices, cheeses, vegetables, fruit, rice, wine, liquors, oils, eggs, dairy products, plus meat, fish, and chicken stock.
Seven (7) chefs x three (3) dishes = 21 plates of food that need to be tasted by each judge. There is usually more than one type of food on each plate. The judges assigned with this task need to take a minimum of two, possibly three bites from each plate. Any tasting judge tasked with this endeavor will truly need to begin this responsibility with an empty stomach.
The jury is composed of two professional Chaîne members and two non-professional Chaîne members. The individuals that volunteered their time, talents, and palate for this highly competitive event are Gary Barnes, Officier; Pat Mozersky, Chef Rôtisseur; Ed Einstein, Chevalier; and Manny Ortiz, Maître de Table Restaurateur.
Steve Martin, Chef Rôtisseur, was also on hand to assist. Steve is the senior culinary educator for the culinary program at St. Philip’s College. It was his expertise that kept the kitchen running smoothly from the beginning to the end of this extraordinary event.
The four judges sit at the jury table, each non-professional is paired with a professional – Gary and Manny make up one team and share each plate that is put in front of them. Ed and Pat make up the other team and do likewise. Each judge has his own cutting knife, which he retains through the whole tasting, and each team has a basket containing many forks, of which one fresh fork is used by each judge for each plate presented.
Each judge has his/her own scorecard, pen and pencil, calculator, writing paper, a water glass and two wine glasses, one for red wine and the other for white wine. All of the glasses are kept well filled during the competition. The judges are free to pair white and red wines with each course at their discretion.
Keeping Score:
The Tasting judges have a lot of paperwork to do. Each judge has 3 score cards for each participant.
The Kitchen judge has only one score card for each participant.
Each Tasting judge evaluates the following categories and can allocate for each contestant up to the maximum points listed below
Taste – 15 points
Presentation – 5 points
Originality – 10 points
Total - 30 points x 3 dishes x 4 judges = 360 total points from the judges
The kitchen judge rates the following categories:
Kitchen techniques - 35 points
Organizational skills - 15 points
Product utilization - 15 points
Professionalism - 20 points
Sanitation - 15 points
Total - 100 points = 100 total points from the kitchen judge
Each competitor can accumulate 460 points if he gets a perfect score.
AND THE WINNERS ARE . . .
The top three candidates accumulating the most points are as follows:
First Place
Robbie Nowlin,
Lodge Restaurant of Castle Hills
Second Place
Michael Saxton,
Boudro's on the Riverwalk
Third Place.
Patrick Edwards,
Ciao Lavanderia
A tight race indeed! Out of a possible 460 points, only 4 points separated the top three candidates
Robbie Nowlin’s winning menu is as follows:
First Course:
Butter poached lobster tail,
Housemade acorn squash,
Crab ravioli with vanilla and mussel infused jus.
Main Course:
Hazelnut crusted veal,
Oyster mushroom and quinoa sauté,
Pomegranate and lemon grass gastrique with spinach and basil oil.
Dessert:
Orange curd,
Candied lemons,
Sweet carrot puree with phyllo crisp.
The rest of the candidates, who all did an excellent job at this event, are listed below in no particular order:
Fernando Cabello:
Marriott Riverwalk
Christopher Mendoza:
Pesca at the Watermark
Ezekiel Cavazos:
The Lodge of Castle Hills
Richard Lopez:
Las Canarias Restaurant, Omni La Mansion
After the competition was completed, it was determined that Michael Saxton was ineligible to compete further because he will reach 27 years of age before September 1, 2007. Robbie Nowlin and Patrick Edwards have been invited to represent San Antonio in the Southwest Regional competition in Houston.
We wish Robbie and Patrick the best of luck as they continue in the competition. Only one candidate can win at Houston, only one can win in Philadelphia, and only one can win in Frankfort Germany. We will have our money on the one that has “San Antonio, Texas” behind his name.