January 8, 2005: Young Chef Rôtisseur Competition
The first Young Chef Rôtisseur competition was organized in 1977 in Switzerland to support and promote future young chefs by giving them the opportunity to demonstrate their skills. Today, competitions are held at regional, national and international levels in countries around the world that have a strong Chaine presence.
For the past three years, the Bailliage du Minneapolis has sponsored a local competition to select and prepare a candidate for regional competition. The contestants are asked to prepare a menu and a three course meal for four people in a period of four hours. The menu is created from a Mystery Basket of ingredients, presented at the beginning of the four hour period. The contestants are judged by three professional judges, by three gastronomes, and by a professional from the sponsoring kitchen.
This years contestants and their sponsoring organizations were:
Soloman A. Shaheer, Demi Chef, The Marquette Hotel
Sean R. Nelson, Sous Chef, Mystic Lake Casino Hotel
Jessica S. Entzel, Student, Le Cordon Bleu
Laura Castro, Pastry Chef, Pazzaluna Urban Italian
The Mystery Basket consisted of:
4 ea. Duck Breasts
4 ea. Veal Sweetbreads
16 ea. 16-20 Shrimps
4 ea. Sole filets
1 1/2 cup Wild Rice
1/4 cup dried Cayenne peppers
8 ea. Spring roll Wrappers
6 oz. Pecans
12 oz. Calmyra figs (dried)
8 oz. Sugar snap peas
2 ea. Pomegranates
1 cup Picholine olives
8 oz. Grits
8 oz. White Chocolate
8 oz. Milk Chocolate
Some portion of each of the components of the Mystery Basket must be used in each of the menus. In addition, a pantry of known ingredients is available to each contestant.
The results of the competition were presented at the awards dinner on January 9, 2005.