VANTAGE POINT: Florida tomatoes shine in many ways during recipe contest
VANTAGE POINT: Florida tomatoes shine in many ways during recipe contest
NEW YORK -- If I were rating my favorite ways to spend an afternoon, participating as a judge in a culinary contest consisting of recipes featuring fresh Florida tomatoes would be near the top of the list. And that's exactly what I had the privilege and pleasure of doing June 22 for the Florida Tomato Committee's "Fresh Florida Tomato Contest: 'Best of the Best' Culinary Student Recipes." The event was held at Lewis & Neale Inc. Strategic Food Communications, a public relations firm here.
The judging panel knows its peas and cukes (and tomatoes) when it comes to fresh vegetables. It included Glenn Harris, chef-owner of Jane and Neptune Room restaurants, here; Thalia Loffredo, partner at restaurants Jovia and Zoe, also in New York; Michael Vignapiano, CCE and president of the Big Apple Chapter of the American Culinary Federation, and an instructor at the Art Institute of New York; Nancy Burgos, traveling executive chef for JC Food Consulting in Ridgewood, NJ; and yours truly, a lucky, get-to-do- fun-and-interesting-things-correspondent for The Produce News.
Florida Tomato Committee Manager Reggie Brown and Director of Education & Promotion Samantha Winters were in the city for the event. Lewis & Neale representatives included Anita Fial, president, Jason Stemm, senior account manager, Joanne Hayes and Annie Bailey, recipe testers/developers, and Janet Budhram, test kitchen assistant.
The contest was made available to culinary students across the United States and Canada through the institutes they attend. Recipes were submitted to the entrants' supervising instructors who judged at their level, and then submitted the chosen entry to the committee. Of the 15 schools that participated this year, six finalists were chosen - three from the United States and three from Canada.
Valeriano Chaves of Liaison College in Brampton, ON, who is graduating this month, created the winning Canadian recipe (and says he'll use his winnings to help pay back student loans), which also won overall first place. Aspiring Chef Chaves created Florida Tomato Jam -- the quintessential, just when you don't think anything else fabulous could be done with a great Florida tomato, it is -- recipe. The delicious, chunky sweet jam met with instant and unanimous raves of approval by the panel. It was chosen as the most unique and creative use of tomatoes, and the easiest to prepare. It is the type of product that I want sitting in my refrigerator as a staple. Other judges agreed, adding that it could also be put to good use on foodservice menus. Chef Chaves has already secured a job at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
"Restaurants can absolutely take advantage of this recipe," said Thalia Loffredo. "I immediately thought about it being served as an accompaniment to a cheese plate, but it would also be good on a hamburger in place of ketchup, or even on a BLT sandwich."
The U.S. first-place award went to George DePontes, a student at the International Institute of Culinary Arts in Fall River, MA, for his Mac 'n Cheese Stuffed Florida Tomato -- a clever, delectable twist to the traditional comfort food staple. Mixed with chunks of bacon and tomato, and tossed with savory breadcrumbs, the cheese- dripping macaroni mixture was stuffed inside a hollowed tomato, leaving me to mutter only a basic but sincere "yum!"
"At Jane, our daily specials throughout the week include fish and fried chicken," said Chef Harris. "This dish would be a perfect accompaniment to these plates.
"It was great fun to judge this contest," he added. "Students generally have access to a wide variety of wonderful products, but they do not have the experience that comes from spending time in the field. For so many to create such wonderful recipes as these is an indication of the great talent that will be entering the field in the future."
It was difficult to choose among the six, however, and the four remaining finalist recipes also deserve acclaim. They are Roasted Fresh Florida Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts by Jane Copeland at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver, BC; Florida Tomatoes Stuffed with Couscous by Stuart Hyslop of Liaison College in Oakville, ON; Roasted Florida Tomato Soup created by Astrid Auchmuty of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI; and Florida Tomato and Chicken Ole offered up by Marleane Gonzales at the American River College in Sacramento, CA. All finalists won cash prizes ranging from $500 to $2,500. Their instructors also received between $100 and $500 for their time and involvement in the entry process.
"A great aspect of the contest for the Florida tomato industry is the trade press coverage it receives," said the committee's Ms. Winters. "It is also a great way for aspiring chefs and others going into the culinary field to learn about the high quality of Florida tomatoes, and it inspires them to use creativity in finding new ways to use them. It is important for us to provide technical information to the foodservice industry that teaches professionals the proper care, handling and preparation of tomatoes. The brochures we publish are a great help, but events like the recipe contest add to the depth of information we distribute."
The judging panel knows its peas and cukes (and tomatoes) when it comes to fresh vegetables. It included Glenn Harris, chef-owner of Jane and Neptune Room restaurants, here; Thalia Loffredo, partner at restaurants Jovia and Zoe, also in New York; Michael Vignapiano, CCE and president of the Big Apple Chapter of the American Culinary Federation, and an instructor at the Art Institute of New York; Nancy Burgos, traveling executive chef for JC Food Consulting in Ridgewood, NJ; and yours truly, a lucky, get-to-do- fun-and-interesting-things-correspondent for The Produce News.
Florida Tomato Committee Manager Reggie Brown and Director of Education & Promotion Samantha Winters were in the city for the event. Lewis & Neale representatives included Anita Fial, president, Jason Stemm, senior account manager, Joanne Hayes and Annie Bailey, recipe testers/developers, and Janet Budhram, test kitchen assistant.
The contest was made available to culinary students across the United States and Canada through the institutes they attend. Recipes were submitted to the entrants' supervising instructors who judged at their level, and then submitted the chosen entry to the committee. Of the 15 schools that participated this year, six finalists were chosen - three from the United States and three from Canada.
Valeriano Chaves of Liaison College in Brampton, ON, who is graduating this month, created the winning Canadian recipe (and says he'll use his winnings to help pay back student loans), which also won overall first place. Aspiring Chef Chaves created Florida Tomato Jam -- the quintessential, just when you don't think anything else fabulous could be done with a great Florida tomato, it is -- recipe. The delicious, chunky sweet jam met with instant and unanimous raves of approval by the panel. It was chosen as the most unique and creative use of tomatoes, and the easiest to prepare. It is the type of product that I want sitting in my refrigerator as a staple. Other judges agreed, adding that it could also be put to good use on foodservice menus. Chef Chaves has already secured a job at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
"Restaurants can absolutely take advantage of this recipe," said Thalia Loffredo. "I immediately thought about it being served as an accompaniment to a cheese plate, but it would also be good on a hamburger in place of ketchup, or even on a BLT sandwich."
The U.S. first-place award went to George DePontes, a student at the International Institute of Culinary Arts in Fall River, MA, for his Mac 'n Cheese Stuffed Florida Tomato -- a clever, delectable twist to the traditional comfort food staple. Mixed with chunks of bacon and tomato, and tossed with savory breadcrumbs, the cheese- dripping macaroni mixture was stuffed inside a hollowed tomato, leaving me to mutter only a basic but sincere "yum!"
"At Jane, our daily specials throughout the week include fish and fried chicken," said Chef Harris. "This dish would be a perfect accompaniment to these plates.
"It was great fun to judge this contest," he added. "Students generally have access to a wide variety of wonderful products, but they do not have the experience that comes from spending time in the field. For so many to create such wonderful recipes as these is an indication of the great talent that will be entering the field in the future."
It was difficult to choose among the six, however, and the four remaining finalist recipes also deserve acclaim. They are Roasted Fresh Florida Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts by Jane Copeland at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver, BC; Florida Tomatoes Stuffed with Couscous by Stuart Hyslop of Liaison College in Oakville, ON; Roasted Florida Tomato Soup created by Astrid Auchmuty of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI; and Florida Tomato and Chicken Ole offered up by Marleane Gonzales at the American River College in Sacramento, CA. All finalists won cash prizes ranging from $500 to $2,500. Their instructors also received between $100 and $500 for their time and involvement in the entry process.
"A great aspect of the contest for the Florida tomato industry is the trade press coverage it receives," said the committee's Ms. Winters. "It is also a great way for aspiring chefs and others going into the culinary field to learn about the high quality of Florida tomatoes, and it inspires them to use creativity in finding new ways to use them. It is important for us to provide technical information to the foodservice industry that teaches professionals the proper care, handling and preparation of tomatoes. The brochures we publish are a great help, but events like the recipe contest add to the depth of information we distribute."
