Fancy Pants Foodie

Foodie news, reviews and how-tos from Arkansas and beyond.

  • Home
  • About
  • Gluten Free
  • PR/Ads
  • Contact Me

Foodie Event: Chef’s Culinary Classic, Part 2 and more

September 23, 2009 by arfoodie

(Update 9/28, award winners listed below photos. Thanks to Holly Heer with AHA.)

Today, I spent a good part of the day at the Arkansas Hospitality Association’s annual tradeshow and convention. I love conventions, especially this one! Lots of great opportunities to rub elbows with fellow foodies. This was especially so at the Iron Chef competition, which had its first several heats today. I got to be a taster (but not a judge) in the second heat today. Each round had a new protein for the secret ingredient; the protein for the round I sat in for was duck. Yum!

Tomorrow, I get to be a taster again in the semi-final round. I’ll hang out for the final round and report more at that time. If you absolutely need at least one or two photos of Iron Chef right away, follow me on Twitter (@ARFoodie) and check out my Twitpics from today.

Meanwhile, I want to give you the final scoop on yesterday’s post, the Arkansas Chef’s Culinary Classic. The AHA folks haven’t gotten back with me on all the final winners (they’re busy with the convention and all), but I’ll update as soon as I have that info.

I did want to let you know about some of the highlights:

  • Watermelon and mint salad with balsamic vinegar by the Chef Osi Imomoh and Sous Chef Howard Austion at Southland Park Gaming & Racing. Must get recipe…there were two unusual types of melon involved.
  • Beautiful lamb chop with a fruit relish and Asian salad by Chef Jamie McAfee of the Pine Bluff Country Club.
  • London broil steak salad by Chef Tyler Husser and Chef Jerry Dolson of Hilton, Little Rock.
  • Saffron shrimp bisque by Chef Donnie Ferneau of the restaurant Ferneau.
  • An amazing Tahitian vanilla bean gelato with homemade maraschino cherries by Chef Adam Hanry of the Ozark Conference Center. This won best dessert, and rightfully so.
  • And my favorite…the roasted beef tenderloin with compound butter sauce by Chef Jason Knapp of the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. Wondering if Gov. Beebe is gaining weight? Chef Jason is the culprit. (See photo from yesterday’s post.)

I also had to mention separately a remarkable find, but one you won’t be able to visit. That is, unless you work at the Dillard’s corporate offices on Cantrell. Bistro 1600, exclusively owned and operated by the food and beverage services of said corporate office, offered an impressive lineup. Hubby and I could not believe the food was not from a hoity-toity downtown restaurant. Chef Norman Geisselbrecht, Chef Michael J. Mass and Chef Marjis Meti presented dishes nothing less than divine. (My notes, other than WOW, got mixed up. In order to get the exact dishes right, I’ll have to update when I get the list.) The chefs were excited about food and about pleasing the diner, whether that be a top executive or hourly grunt.

Well, I just spent about half an hour writing captions for all these photos, and the computer ate them somehow. Until I put in a new plugin (I’m thinking something Flash based), you’ll just have to guess what each is. But they sure are purty!

What a busy foodie week…more tomorrow on Iron Chef, the AHA convention, and…oh yeah…tomorrow’s Taste of the Town in North Little Rock. Eat up!

ARKANSAS CHEF’S CULINARY CLASSIC PHOTOS





Award Winners:

Appetizer

1st Donnie Ferneau, Ferneau – Ahi Tuna nachos

2nd Adam Hanry, Ozark Conference Center – Pork rinds w/lime salt

3rd Will Hutchison, Pulaski Tech Culinary School – Slow Roast of Strip loin

Soup/Salad

1st Andre Poirot, Peabody Hotel – Wild Mushroom soup

2nd Ted Roman, Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa – Acorn Squash Bisque

3rd Osi Imomoh, Southland Park Gaming & Racing – Watermelon Splash Salad

Entrée

1st Jason Knapp, AR Governor’s Mansion – Seared filet of beef

2nd Joe Coleman, Peabody Hotel – Blue cheese stuffed beef roulade

3rd Donnie Ferneau, Ferneau – Beef wellington w/brie

Dessert

1st Adam Hanry, Ozark Conference Center – Standing ice cream cone

2nd Brian Cochrane, Pulaski Tech Culinary School – Almond Florentine

3rd Christian Alexander, Peabody Hotel – Cake & mousse dessert

Coleman Pride Award

Andre Poirot, Peabody Hotel – Wild Mushroom Soup

Best of Beef

Jason Knapp, AR Governor’s Mansion – Seared filet of beef

People’s Choice Award

Jamie McAfee, Pine Bluff Country Club – Asian Lamb Chop

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Foodie News, PTC_ACS Tagged With: Arkansas Hospitality Association, Chef's Culinary Classic, chefs, Competition

« Foodie Event: Ark. Chef’s Culinary Classic, Part 1
Foodie Event: Iron Chef at Arkansas Hospitality Association Convention and Tradeshow »

Comments

  1. Larry Hanry says

    September 29, 2009 at 4:30 pm

    My son, Adam Hanry was a participant and won a couple of medals. I have attended the last two years. He has been there at least the past four. I come every time I can. It's a great event. A lot of fun for the attendees and a lot of work (worth it) for the chefs. I helped Adam who started at 6am for the competition which was around 5pm. All the offerings were his own creations.. Thanks Christie for the new foodie blog. Keep up the good work. Great photos.
    • arfoodie says

      September 29, 2009 at 5:50 pm

      Larry, It was a delight to meet you and your son. You are full of great ideas! I bet we'll work on something together one of these days. Thanks for reading!
  2. WendyAnn says

    September 26, 2009 at 11:32 pm

    I wanted to attend! everything looks yummy!
  3. Ramona Collins says

    September 23, 2009 at 11:26 pm

    Oh, I forgot. Great photos!! You've inspired me!
  4. Ramona Collins says

    September 23, 2009 at 11:25 pm

    Great post. It was nice to see you at the event. This is my first year attending, and I have been pleasantly surprised. There were great information sessions and tons of delish food around each corner (and a few tasty 'adult' beverages as well). Looking forward to a great second day. See you on the trade show floor. Hasta luego, chica! ~RAMONA

Let’s keep in touch!

Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links meaning I earn a commission if you use those links. If I recommend something specifically, you can trust that I've used it and I love it.
Fancy Pants Foodie
Tweets by @ARFoodie

Recent Posts

  • I’m Still Alive (And Eating a Weird Diet)
  • Arkansas Hospitality Conference a Food Lover’s Dream (PHOTOS)
  • Culinary Classic Offers a Taste From Arkansas’ Best Chefs (GIVEAWAY)
  • Diamond Chef Arkansas 2016 at Pulaski Tech CAHMI
  • 2016 ProStart Arkansas Competition

Copyright © 2022 · Foodie Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress