Chef of the Fest Winners

Here are the winners for the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival Chef of the Fest!

The Grand Prize winner was Rich Sweeney, R-Gang Eatery, with his Duck Fat-Fried Beignets with Burnt Orange Cream and Smoked Duck “Dust” and Crispy Glazed Duck Skin

Second Place went to Carissa Giacalone, Vela Restaurant, for her Slow Braised Pig Jowls and Snouts, Crispy Bearnaise, Chicharones, and Pickled Quail Egg

Third Place: Nicholas Bour, AVANT Restaurant, for his Red Royal Shrimp “Ceviche” with Ponzu Gelee and Crispy Nori

Fourth: Derek Jaeger of The Cravory for his Ultimate Ice Cream Sandwich

Fifth: Chad White,  Plancha Baja Med, for his Chicken Hearts, Nopal, Masa, Epazote, Queso Fresco, Cebolla Salsa, Guajillo Mole

Sixth: Jorge Gutierrez of Romesco for his Plantain Tostada with Wild Salmon

Seventh: Tommy Fraioli of Sea Rocket Bistro for his Pork Belly/Watermelon/Apple/Kimchee

Eighth: Joe Bracero of Katsuya San Diego for Seasonal Poke - Sesame-seed oil marinated with roasted corn, crisp watercress, radishes, gochugung walnuts, lotus root chips

Ninth: Eric Bauer of Veladora for House-smoked lamb breast with chestnut and quinoa salad, currants, mint and pomegranate yogurt

Tenth: Todd Nash of Bub's at the Ballpark for his Asian chopped chicken salad with Romaine, Napa Cabbage, Radicchio, Carrots, Mint, Cilantro, Scallions, Grapes, Almonds, Chicken, Crispy Wontons, Lime Hoisin Dressing)

And for the category winners...

The winner in theVegetarian/Raw Category was Francesca Penoncelli, BiCE Ristorante, for her
Organic Red Beet Orzotto with a Delicate Sottocenere al Tartufo Fondue and Kale Crackers

In the Meat Category, Carissa Giacalone, of Vela Restaurant, reined again with her Slow Braised Pig Jowls and Snouts, Crispy Bearnaise, Chicharones, and Pickled Quail Egg

The Poultry Category winner was Chad White,  Plancha Baja Med, for his Chicken Hearts, Nopal, Masa, Epazote, Queso Fresco, Cebolla Salsa, Guajillo Mole

In the Seafood Category, Nicholas Bour of AVANT, with his Red Royal Shrimp “Ceviche” with Ponzu Gelee and Crispy Nori

And, in the Dessert Category, Rich Sweeney, R-Gang Eatery, with those addicting Duck Fat-Fried Beignets with Burnt Orange Cream and Smoked Duck “Dust” and Crispy Glazed Duck Skin 

The Celebrity Chef Judges

Behind the Scenes: Haute French Cuisine & Vintage Burgundy Tasting

I've spent quite a bit of time today going through my photos from Haute French Cuisine & Vintage Burgundy Tasting, one of the most exclusive events at last week's San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival.  Relais & Châteaux Grand Chef William Bradley, of Addison at The Grand Del Mar, prepared a superb six-course dinner for 16 guests gathered around Le Grand Table. The courses were paired with vintage Burgundy tastings selected by Wine Director Elizabeth Huettinger. I was permitted to take a few photographs before the guests arrived, and was beyond thrilled when Chef Bradley graciously welcomed me into his magnificent kitchen for the remainder of the evening. Each course was truly a work of art. Here are just a few of the photos from my incredible evening (more photos here).

Le Grand Table

Wine Director Elizabeth Huettinger

Southwestern Holiday Showstoppers with Tiffany Vickers Davis

Chef Tiffany Vickers Davis, Test Kitchen Manager at Cooking Light magazine, came to the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival this year to share a collection of Southwestern Holiday Showstoppers:  Grilled Stuffed Jalapeños, Chipotle Pork Tamales with Cilantro-Lime Crema, Post-Turkey Day Posole, and Blood Orange Sangria. Tiffany was joined by Clay Fritz, President of Fritz Underground Winery, who poured a few of his wines to enjoy during the class.

All of the tastings were very good, easy to prepare, on the lighter side, and great for entertaining during the busy holiday season. I plan to make the posole soon, but wanted to share the recipe with you now so you can make it with some of your leftover turkey. It was a stormy day in San Diego last Friday and  it really hit the spot!

Macy's Cooking School hosted the class

Prepping before attendees arrived

The Cooking Light camera crew

Mixing up the Sangria

Fruity Sangria with a little holiday flavor from cloves and cinnamon

Stuffed Jalapeno and Chipotle Pork Tamale

Tiffany preparing the posole

Clay Fritz enjoying his posole with the class

Post-Turkey Day Posole

Happy Birthday, Dear Gale, Happy Birthday to You!

The week-long San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival came to end today with Gale Gand's Birthday Brunch with Friends hosted by Marina Kitchen, San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina. Executive Chef Aron Schwartz invited Gale's friends, The Hearty Boys, into his kitchen, and together they prepared a birthday brunch for the guest of honor. I was hidden back in the pastry kitchen and away from the action, but Chef Schwartz made sure I received each course to photograph. The desserts were to be served buffet-style, so one of the pastry chefs graciously offered to style a few plates for me. Although they were extremely tempting, I limited myself to a couple of the apple cider doughnut holes.

I was privileged to meet Gale last year during the Celebrity Chef Luncheon and Chef of the Fest judging, and we met again this year during the Celebrity Chef Dinner and Chef of the Fest judging. The Hearty Boys have also been active in the festival for the last few years.

For today's post, I'm sharing a few photos of the brunch menu and the Lemon Meringue Pie Gale prepared for the Celebrity Chef Dinner on Thursday.

FIRST COURSE

Apple Cider Doughnut Holes with warm Julian Mulled Cider

SECOND COURSE

Creamy Organic Grits with Poached Egg, Caviar and Chives

THIRD COURSE

Chicken & Waffles

Lavender Fried Chicken Thigh, Cheddar Waffles, Creamed Collards

DESSERT STATION

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

Mini Peppermint Angel Food Bundt Cake

Crushed Malted Milk Ball and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Hot Fudge

Gale's Dessert for this year's Wine Spectator Celebrity Chef Dinner

Lemon Meringue Pie

Blackberries and Blackberry Paint

Gale Gand and The Hearty Boys (last year's photo)

***

I still have hundreds of photos to sort through this week, write an article for Coronado Lifestyles, and get ready for Thanksgiving! Have a good evening...

Beignets in a Bag

It's going to be another short post tonight...I'm almost through the month with a post a day for National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo), but this is killing me! I really want to just crawl into my bed and sleep right now.

I spent the day in the Chef of the Fest tent at the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival, photographing all 40 of the Chef of the Fest entries, as the eight celebrity chef judges tasted and scored each one. I was thrown a few scraps along the way, but felt like Trapper sitting there drooling for three hours. There were some amazing presentations, but sometimes the best things do come in small packages. This year's Chef of the Fest winner presented three beignets in a petite brown paper bag. Whimsical, but not as elaborate as some of the other platings. I took a few shots and put it back on the display table. Seconds later, all the judges were oohing and aahing and agreeing they had a winner (it was late in the competition, with only a few more dishes to taste, but I'm sure they kept an open mind while tasting the few remaining bites). I grabbed back the bag of beignets and tried to take a few more photos, in anticipation of it being the winner. However, there was only so much I could do as far as styling and angles with this one. It wasn't until later, when I popped one in my mouth (okay, I had three), that I was able to appreciate all the earlier commotion in the tent. I had no idea about the burnt orange cream piped inside each beignet, or the fact that they were fried in duck fat and garnished with smoked duck 'dust' and crispy glazed duck skin. Very addicting. Congratulations to Rich Sweeney of R-Gang Eatery!

Now, for the Trapper fans out there, I must respond to today's NaBloPoMo Daily Prompt: Playtime. 

Do you play in your daily life? What says "playtime" to you?

Photographers, artists, poets: show us PLAY.

Trapper - Mom, come play!

Have a great night and enjoy your Sunday!

Cheers,

Denise & Trapper