Steve Martin, president of the Myrtle Beach Chapter of the American Culinary Federation, and competition judge, Certified Executive Chef Ray Farmer of Halperns' Purveyors of Steak and Seafood, conducted a preparatory meeting on Monday night. They explained the competition process to the chefs and answered their questions.
Dueling chefs Today at 7 a.m. the Southeastern Chefs Competition began. Almost 90 chefs are competing for gold, silver and bronze American Culinary Federation medals, cash, trophies and other prizes. It’s at the Myrtle BeachConvention Center in conjunction with the Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Supply Show of the Southeast. Four chefs at a time are in side-by-side kitchens. They don’t know what foods they have to use until their time slots begin, and then they each have 1 hour and 45 minutes to produce six identical meals with an entree, starch and vegetable. Many contestants are from North and South Carolina, but there are also competitors from as far away as Connecticut and Michigan.
UPDATE 9 p.m.
Below is the final group of Tuesday's competitors who battled it out from 5-7 p.m.
Chef Scott Craig is from Charlotte, NC.
Chef Craig made Pan Roasted Breast of Chicken, with sweet potato hash, braised greens wrapped in a country style flat bread, with chicken jus and roasted apple chutney.
Chef Jeremy Gardner is from Albany, GA.
Chef Gardner prepared Seared Beef with mushroom and thyme risotto and mango and jalapeno relish.
Chef Timothy Grandinetti is from Winston-Salem, NC.
Chef Grandinetti prepared Crab Crusted Grouper Filet with sea scallop with caramelized fennel and lemon, parsnip potato puree and crispy clams.
Chris Kirwin assisted Chef Robert Wilson of Charlotte, NC.
Chef Wilson prepared Dijon Crusted Pork with Cajun rice pilaf and spinach with cucumber papaya chutney.
UPDATE 6:30 p.m.
The last batch of chefs is competing right now (it smells really great in here!); following is the group that cooked from 3-5 p.m.
It's quiet again, as it was when the competition began at 7 a.m. today. The Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Supply Show of the Southeast is closed now, and we're just about the only people left in the exhibition hall except for the cleaning crew and security.
Robert Beuth is Executive Chef at the Ocean Club at Grande Dunes.
Chef Beuth made Artichoke Heart and Caramelized Onion Stuffed Chicken Breast with bacon and mushroom risotto, spinach, glazed carrots and herbed pan sauce.
Chef Brandon Velie is from Aiken.
Chef Velie prepared Pan Seared Skirt Steak with Adulah yellow grits and bacon, mushroom and spinach sauté and roasted beet demi-glace.
Chef Samuel Sottile is from Surfside Beach.
Samuel Sottile prepared Pork Stuffed with Caramelized Apples and Sage with a sweet potato hash and a spicy slaw and natural pork jus.
Chef Ben Comstock is from Myrtle Beach.
Chef Comstock cooked Pan Seared Scallops, wild mushroom risotto, and shaved fennel and coriander salad with a sabayon sauce.
UPDATE 4:30 p.m.
The chefs are still cooking, and hundreds of spectators are watching some of the best chefs from throughout the United States. The batch below competed from 1-3 p.m.
Chef Greg Mueller is from Aiken, SC.
Chef Mueller made Pan Seared Pork Tenderloin with butternut squash hash, braised Brussels sprouts and a Granny Smith apple chutney.
Chef Eric Rice is from Cornelius, NC.
Chef Rice prepared Cast Iron Seared Grouper, Scallop and Cauliflower puree with sweet potato sticks with lump crab ragout.
Chef Brantly prepared Roasted Chicken Roulade with smoked chicken forcemeat, sautéed spinach with bacon, sun-dried tomato-shallot pudding with parsnip puree and Madeira pan sauce.
Chef Rodney Tallada is Executive Chef at the Grande Dunes Members Club in Myrtle Beach.
Chef Tallada cooked Spice-rubbed Skirt Steak with root vegetable hash, braised greens and wild mushroom Dijon jus.
UPDATE 2:30 p.m.
The fourth group of four competitors is now on stage.
One of our judges, Certified Master Chef John Kinsella, is also the National President of the American Culinary Federation. He is the author of the classic culinary book titled "Professional Charcuterie," and in the photo on the left he is signing a copy for Chef Eric Rice of Cornelius, NC.
Chef David Hardy of Palm Coast, Fla., gives instruction to his apprentice. All the competitors are assigned an apprentice from the culinary arts program at Horry-Georgetown Technical College.
Chef Hardy made Sautéed Grouper with Tomato Clam Fonue with pommes vapour.
Chef Dan Henn, executive sous-chef at the Grande Dunes Ocean Club.
Chef Henn made Seared Skirt Steak with Marsala sauce, sweet and Idaho potato cake, pan fried baby zucchini, petit pan squash and carrot in thyme butter.
Chef Paul Insley is from Aiken, SC.
Chef Insley made Roast Chicken Breast stuffed with chicken forcemeat with chicken veloute sauce, mashed sweet potato with caramelized onions and Asparagus blanched with butter citrus sauce and bacon lardons.
Chef Robert Marilla is from Cornelius, NC.
Chef Marilla made Honey and Cider Vinegar Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Caramelized Red Onion Sauce, dried cherry mashed sweet potatoes and root vegetable medley on wilted baby spinach.
UPDATE 12 p.m.
The second group of today's competitors just finished, and the third group is underway.
One aspect of this competition that chefs most appreciate is the instant feedback they get from the judges. In the photo to the right, Chef Devin Duncan hears what Certified Executive Chef and judge Roland Schaeffer says about his meal.
Chef Jay Christmas is from Winston-Salem, NC.
Chef Jay Christmas prepared Pan Seared Grouper Fillet in sherry spinach smoked bacon cream with steamed clams and scallop sausage and served with butternut squash puree, asparagus and julienne red pepper.
Chef Devin Duncan is from Cary, NC.
Chef Duncan prepared Roasted Skirt Steak with gratin potatoes, spinach and demi-glace.
Chef Justin Evans, right, is from Mooresville, NC. Here he listens to the floor judge, Certified Executive Chef Ray Farmer of Halperns' Purveyors of Steaks and Seafood.
Chef Evans prepared Chicken Roulade served with Idaho potato and parsnip puree, buttered carrots, sautéed asparagus, apple bacon relish and supreme sauce.
Certified Executive Chef Jason Hall, formerly of the Dunes Club and now of Palm Coast, Fla., had his time slot starting at 9:45 a.m.
Chef Hall prepared Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Chateau Potato, cauliflower puree, batonette of carrot and natural jus.
UPDATE 10 a.m.
The first four competitors just finished their time slots. Here are their photos, and photos of their food.
Nicholas Apap is from Mooresville, NC.
Chef Apap made Ancho-Orange Rubbed Skirt Steak with a roasted vegetable medley and sweet potato puree with a bacon-avocado cream sauce.
Jeff Sommer is from Eatonton, GA.
Chef Sommer made Bacon-wrapped Breast of Chicken with parsley crepe vegetable box, pan-fried potatoes and tarragon foam.
Bryan Bolton is from Concord, NC.
Chef Bolton made Ancho-rubbed Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Bacon Mushroom Stuffing served with roasted butternut squash puree, sautéed baby zucchini and pattypans with apple and pear salsa.
Sean Christenson works with Divine Dining Group right here in the Grand Strand.
Chef Christenson made Pecan Crusted Grouper with beet beurre blanc, roasted butternut squash potato puree, and orange fennel salad with crisp bacon and poached beets.
Daddy Sean
Chef Christianson says he expects to become a father this week with the scheduled arrival of a baby girl named Sage. Congrats!
John Kinsella, CMC, and National ACF President. Photo courtesy Midwest Culinary Institute.
The four certified judges are:
Certified Master Chef John Kinsella of Cincinnati is the current national American Culinary Federation president, and is one of 61 American Certified Master Chefs.He is the author of “Professional Charcuterie,” and is a senior chef instructor.
Returning judge, Certified Executive Chef Roland Schaeffer,has earned more than 70 international culinary awards, including the ACF National Chef of the Year award.
Returning judge, Certified Executive Chef Ray Farmer, who has earned two golds and one silver medal at the Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt, Germany. He is currently Executive Vice President and Co-Founder of Halperns’ Purveyors of Steak and Seafood, based in Atlanta.
New judge, Certified Master Pastry Chef Wolfgang Bierer of Hilton Head.
Sean Thomas of the Divine Dining Group is a competitor in the 2008 ACF Southeastern Chefs Competition.
Today’s schedule
The competition runs through Thursday, and today’s contestants are:
7 a.m., Nicholas Apap, Concord, NC
7:15, Jeff Sommer, Eatonton, GA
7:30, Bryan Bolton, Concord, NC
7:45, Sean Christenson, Garden City
9 a.m., Jay Christmas, Winston-Salem, NC
9:15, Devin Duncan, Cary, NC
9:30, Justin Evans, Mooresville, NC
9:45, Justin Hall, Palm Coast, FL
11 a.m., David Haudy, Palm Coast, FL
11:15, Daniel Henn, Myrtle Beach
11:30, Paul Insly, Aiken
11:45, Robert Marilla, Cornelius, NC
1 p.m., Greg Mueller, Aiken
1:15, Eric Rice, Cornelius, NC
1:30, Bob Brantly, Raleigh, NC
1:45, Rodney Tallada, Myrtle Beach
3 p.m., Robert Beuth, Myrtle Beach
3:15, Sean Thomas, Myrtle Beach
3:30, Samuel Sottile, Surfside Beach
3:45, Ben Comstock, Myrtle Beach
5 p.m., Scott Craig, Charlotte, NC
5:15, Jeremy Gardner, Albany, GA
5:30, Timothy Grandinetti, Winston-Salem, NC
5:45, Robert Wilson, Charlotte, NC
ProStart Student Invitational
Four-member culinary teams of high school students started competing Monday at the Myrtle BeachConvention Center in the 2008 Carolina ProStart Student Invitational. It’s a “culinary, management and recipe development competition” The only local team participating is from the Academy for Technology and Academics in western HorryCounty.
The teams “demonstrate their creative abilities through the preparation of at three-course meal in 60 minutes. Their performance during the practical session is observed and rated by judges from leading post-secondary colleges and universities and the restaurant and foodservice industry.”
Another part of the competition is about restaurant management, where the students, “demonstrate their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry by competing in two different events. In the case study, students will be tested on their communication skills and their ability to apply their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry to practical situations. The second portion of the competition, the quiz bowl, is a question and answer event.”
The event is presented by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, and one of the major sponsors is Hard Rock Park.
First place teams in the two divisions will move on to the National ProStart Invitational, which is April 24-26 in San Diego.
A service of The Food Syndicate, LLC, 2007. Send Grand Strand area restaurant news to Becky@TheFoodSyndicate.com. Becky Billingsley has provided news about Myrtle Beach area restaurants for more than 10 years.
