convention

Arkansas Hospitality Association’s Culinary Classic Tonight

September 17, 2013 by arfoodie Leave a Comment

Filet of beef with mushroom gratin, red wine demi glace by Chef Andre Poirot of the Peabody Hotel.

Filet of beef with mushroom gratin, red wine demi glace by Chef Andre Poirot, then of the Peabody Hotel, at last year’s Culinary Classic.

I’ve said it for several years now: The Arkansas Hospitality Association Convention and Trade Show, which starts today, is pretty much my favorite food event all year.

The big week features samples and resources for food professionals, professional development opportunities, housekeeping and bartending competitions, and two (count ’em, TWO) major cooking competitions: Iron Chef (on the trade show floor, later this week) and the Culinary Classic (a separately ticketed, pre-conference event).

The Culinary Classic offers guests a taste of every entrant’s competition dish, and these tastes are pretty generous. The chefs enter their wares in the categories of Soup/Salad, Dessert, Entree, or Appetizer. Meanwhile, attendees browse a silent auction of mostly hospitality items (meals, hotel stays and the like), the benefits of which help Arkansas culinary students with their education. You know I’m down with that.

The really fun thing about the event is that it’s not the standard cache of chefs you see at all the other food events in town. For example, one of the most medaled chefs in past years, Adam Hanry, works at the sleeper (ha) Camp Mitchell Retreat Center, although his food could pass for that at a trendy restaurant downtown. Another surprise last year was Bistro 1600, a private dining operation open exclusively to Dillard’s employees.

This year’s Culinary Classic offers a weird twist for me: I’m on the judging panel. I’ve had several event judging opportunities in recent years that I eschewed because of my gluten intolerance. Tonight, imma suck it up. I may be all bloated and sickly tomorrow, but by golly, this is an opportunity that I won’t pass up.

See winners and photos from previous years here and here. Also, check out AHA’s video promotion of the event.

Want to join me? Here are the deets:

Arkansas Hospitality Association
Culinary Classic (Click to order tickets)
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Statehouse Convention Center
6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $45 and include beer and wine tasting by Glazer’s

Mexican Restaurant Association (MERA) National Conference

October 1, 2010 by arfoodie Leave a Comment

Chef Ulysses Mora shows Tuesday morning's first pan of paella.

In case you hadn’t heard, North Little Rock was the epicenter of a Mexican culinary throwdown this week.

Our great city (I can say that because I moved back into NLR city limits Wednesday) hosted the Mexican Restaurant Association’s (MERA) national conference. Demonstrations, management discussions and vendor displays took place at the Wyndham Riverfront. The convention also included Monday’s community night at Dickey-Stephens Park (link is to Kat Robinson’s coverage on Eat Arkansas) and a banquet for conference attendees on Tuesday night at Pulaski Technical College, hosted by the Arkansas Culinary School.

Did I mention I moved this week?

Because of a long list of unavoidable circumstances, we pretty much packed and moved our entire house the first half of this week. So, the only event I made it to was part of the conference itself on Tuesday morning. I’m still kicking myself for missing the community and banquet events — especially since there’s a rumor that Guy Fieri was at the former. (Can anyone confirm that, with photos?)

But I did sign up some time ago for the Tuesday morning task of assisting Chef Ulysses Mora, a delightful, handsome chef and accomplished artist from the Orlando area. We were to make paella, a Spanish rice dish that would be demonstrated alongside another chef’s authentic Mexican dish. It was a friendly “versus” setup, commemorating Mexico’s 200th anniversary of independence from Spain.

While the morning conference activities began, Chef Mora prepared two huge dishes of paella, in traditional pans so large that one took up the entire flattop cooking surface. While he made the first one, I ran around finding things for him, running other things to the walk-in, and basically absorbing the craziness of the busy kitchen.

As Chef Mora transferred the first dish of paella to a hotel pan for sampling during his demonstration, he started the second pan that would be for display. (And, of course, kitchen-worker eatery. Bonus!) He let me sweat the onions and prep some of the other ingredients: Uncle Ben’s parboiled rice (really), mussels, tilapia (he said he prefers mahi-mahi), crab legs, and the most amazing chorizo sausage I have ever had. He said it was flown in from Spain for $17 per pound.

If any readers went to the other events, especially if you have photos, please leave me a comment!

: Chef Ulysses Mora shows Tuesday morning’s first pan of paella.

: A conference attendee samples an authentic Mexican dish.

: Each conference attendee Tuesday morning got a sample plate of paella.

: Chef Mora during his presentation at MERA.

: Nogales Produce shows specialty produce and spice mixes for Hispanic restaurants at the MERA convention’s vendor area.

: Spirits were a big part of the MERA convention.

: A vendor’s selection of Hispanic products.

: These vendors had some of the best tortillas I’ve ever tasted.

Arkansas Hospitality Association and Iron Chef Competition

September 22, 2010 by arfoodie Leave a Comment

It’s here! My favorite convention of the year, the Arkansas Hospitality Association.

Today, several of my fellow students and I are eating, looking and learning; booths here range from large food purveyors such as Ben E. Keith and Sysco to hotel service providers and restaurants. Meanwhile, the annual Iron Chef competition booms in the background. I’ll bring you updates on each heat as they come in.

Iron Chef Competition

Heat 1: Kathy Webb of Lily’s Dim Sum, Then Some and Heather Brown of Alice 107.7 vs. Brandon Douglas of Big Rock Bistro, Pulaski Tech and Poolboy of Alice 107.7
Mystery Protein: Duck Breast
Winner: Brandon Douglas and Poolboy

Egg dishes from Heat 2.

Heat 2: Jason Knapp and Doug Spharler of Pulaski Tech vs. Lewis Curtis and J. Matt Lile of Lulav.
Mystery Protein: Egg
Winner: Jason Knapp and Doug Spharler of Pulaski Tech

Top sirloin dish by Simply the Best.

Heat 3: Jason Godwin and Joel Carr of Simply the Best vs. Tung Nguyen and Howard Austion of Southland Park Gaming & Racing.
Mystery Protein: Top Sirloin
Winner: Jason Godwin and Joel Carr of Simply the Best

Heat 4: Ted Roman and Jody Smallwood of the Arlington Hotel vs. Rob Nelson and James Rose of River Grille.
Mystery Protein: Tuna
Winner: Rob Nelson and James Rose of River Grille.

FINAL OVERALL WINNERS:
Rob Nelson and James Rose of River Grille

Iron Chef winners Rob Nelson and sous James Rose of River Grille.

Chef Rob Nelson busting a move.

Here are some photos from the convention, as well as Wednesday’s heats of Iron Chef. Please forgive any lack of detail until I have time to fill in.

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