Fancy Pants Foodie

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

Diamond Chef 2012 Preliminaries Today

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March 6, 2012

Note: See real-time updates here.

Can you get away from the office or the house this afternoon? Some super-talented chefs, converging upon the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in downtown Little Rock, will make it worth your foodie while. And, while the finale event will cost you $150, today’s drop-by-when-you-can style event is free.

From 1 – 7 p.m. today, the Diamond Chef Arkansas preliminary competition will take place amid a blur of proteins and pantry products, many of which will be revealed to the competitors in the form of a mystery basket, as on the popular television show “Chopped.”

The chefs, with the help of one sous chef, will have 40 minutes to prepare a dish using all the ingredients in the basket. Judges will score the dishes based on taste and creativity, as well as technical proficiency and sanitation.

On June 5, Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School will hold the Diamond Chef finale, a ticketed event showdown between today’s two top contenders. At that event, guests will enjoy a fine dining menu while the chefs compete on stage, creating a three-course meal using a protein that will be announced just moments before the competition begins.

Tickets to the finale event cost $150 per person and can be purchased by calling Yvette Parker at (501) 812-2271 or e-mailing yparker@pulaskitech.edu

Continue to watch for additional posts here at Fancy Pants Foodie or on Twitter at @ARFoodie for real-time updates.

Preliminary competition schedule for today:

Heat #1 – 1 p.m.- Chef Cynthia Malik and sous Richard Goetz (Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School) vs. Chef Matt Cooper and sous Mario Flores (Lulav)

Heat #2 – 2 p.m. – Chef Donnie Ferneau (Ferneau Restaurant) vs. Chef Jason Knapp (UCA/Aramark)

Heat #3 – 3 p.m. – Chef Bonner Cameron (Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro) vs. Chef Stephen Burrow (Clinton Presidential Center)

Heat #4 – 4 p.m. – Chef Jeffrey Ferrell (Capital Hotel) vs. Chef Diana Bratton (Taco Mama and Café 1217)

Heat #5 – 5 p.m.: Semi-finals

Heat #6 – 6 p.m.: Semi-finals


Diamond Chef Arkansas Finals Play by Play

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June 7, 2011

I wasn’t able to attend this event last year, so I didn’t realize just how stinkin’ cool it is.

The event of Diamond Chef Arkansas at the Statehouse Convention Center is quite the event indeed. When I first peeked in the dining room, there was a server locked in position at each of the 50 10-seat tables. At 7 p.m., all of us involved with the school, both students and instructors, lined each side of the entryway and greeted guests as they entered, with flashing lights, video screens and exciting music pumping.

I didn’t expect to be able to eat tonight; most of these events, I’m shlepping in the kitchen. I didn’t realize that my friends at the school expected me to blog right at the table, which is cool with me! In fact, all the students are getting to eat, as the convention center has its own kitchen staff. I’ve already enjoyed an amazing mixed green salad with candied pecans, Gorgonzola cheese, hearts of palm and cherry tomatoes.

The Competition

Chef Daniel Capello of the Chenal Country Club, last year’s Diamond Chef champion, is competing tonight against Chef Cindy East-Malik, lead instructor at the Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School. They entered the banquet hall as to a ring fight, each with his or her own music and rally cry to the audience. Chef Malik danced as she entered the stage, set up like Iron Chef or Chopped on Food Network, to “Cause I’m a Woman.”

Chef Todd Gold, director of the Arkansas Culinary School, announced the mystery protein: rabbit. The two chefs were allotted 10 minutes to break down the protein, which they have just completed. They now have one hour to produce their dishes.

Appetizer Courses:
Chef Capello: Rabbit Tacos with cilantro and a mango margarita
Chef Malik: Rabbit Lettuce Wraps with a Southern cucumber salad

Rabbit tacos by Chef Capello

First Course/Entree:
Chef Capello: Parmesan crusted rabbit with gnocchi and sauteed spinach
Chef Malik:  Apricot glazed rabbit side with creamed spinach, glazed heirloom carrots and potato pot pie

Chef Malik's goat cheese and rabbit sausage tart with poached pears and watermelon sorbet.

Second Course/Dessert:
Chef Capello: Hazelnut crusted rabbit, blue cheese ravioli, chantrelle mushrooms and a tomato sauce
Chef Malik: Goat cheese rabbit sausage on a tart shell with microgreens, poached pears and watermelon sorbet.

WINNER:
Chef Daniel Capello.

Chef Malik: 78.77/100 points; Chef Capello: 81.42/100 points.

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Diamond Chef Finals Tomorrow

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Chef Malik reviews her mystery box ingredients during the March 2 preliminaries.

June 6, 2011

Today I was in the kitchen at Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School, the first day cooking for my summer class, Food Production III. I’ll write a separate post about that…stressful, but ended up okay!

While I was there, I noticed Chef Cindy Malik (known to some students as Chef East, as she got married last semester) and her hubby chatting with some of the other chefs. She was in street clothes — I hardly ever see her out of chef whites — but she meant business.

She’s playing two roles this week, both as lead instructor at the culinary school and a competitor in tomorrow’s Diamond Chef final, hosted by the same school. She won the preliminaries on March 2 against a bevy of local heavyweights to compete against last year’s Diamond Chef winner, Chef Daniel Capello of the Chenal Country Club.

Chef Dan Capello finishing his dish at last year's Wildwood Wine and Food Festival.

I’m sure it’s an awkward balance for her this week. She has worked very hard to practice, study, learn new techniques and memorize all kinds of possibilities for tomorrow’s black-box style competition (think Chopped on Food Network). Meanwhile, all her colleagues are putting together the actual event, including the secret ingredients that she can’t know anything about.

Chef Malik, from what I overheard, was informing the others about what she’d be bringing, since the competitors are allowed to bring some of their own equipment and product. After she left, the others whipped back into action, packing up all the pantry ingredients and equipment that the two competitors will have available during the competition, as well as the top-secret mystery baskets.

The Diamond Chef competition, a fundraiser for the Pulaski Technical College Foundation, will be held at the Statehouse Convention Center tomorrow night (Tuesday, June 7), with a reception at 6 p.m. and program at 7. Food fans can purchase tickets for $150 and enjoy a three course dinner — not the ones prepared by the competing chefs, but by the school’s other professionals and students — and watch the two competitors sweat and chop it out.

I was sick and wasn’t able to attend last year, so I am totally excited to be going tomorrow. I’m so excited, in fact, that I was willing to send my husband and kids ahead on our vacation to Charleston, S.C. without me, and I’m flying out Wednesday morning to meet them.

The school has me scheduled to help in the kitchen, but if I’m at all able, I hope to live-blog the event here and on Twitter as I did the Diamond Chef preliminaries. If you’re a Twitter bird, follow me at @ARFoodie. If nothing else, I’ll send some awesome behind-the-scenes photos of food and frenzy.

Deets:

June 7, 2011
Diamond Chef Arkansas – Finale
Statehouse Convention Center
6 p.m. Reception
7 p.m. Program
Table of 10 – $1,500
Individual Tickets – $150
For tickets, contact Yvette Henton at (501) 812-2271 or yhenton@pulaskitech.edu

The conclusion of the ultimate culinary competition will unfold on center stage. Chefs will have 60 minutes to prepare a three course meal for judging that features a mystery ingredient revealed just before the clock starts. Chefs are judged on creativity, taste, presentation and technical skills.  Guests are treated to a three course meal including wine.

Diamond Chef Arkansas is presented by Pulaski Technical College Foundation.

Diamond Chef… There can be only one.

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Note: Scroll down for live coverage.

Continuing to position itself in the forefront of Arkansas’ culinary scene, today Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School and the Pulaski Technical College Foundation host Diamond Chef preliminaries at the Peabody Hotel in downtown Little Rock. The event, held in the hotel lobby’s bar area, is free to the public and helps raise awareness and funds for the state’s only culinary school accredited by the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation.

Diamond Chef is patterned after competitions such as Iron Chef and Chopped on Food Network, placing the state’s top chefs against each other for the year’s esteemed title. For the preliminary competitions, chefs are presented a mystery basket of ingredients and given 40 minutes, with the help of one sous chef, to prepare a dish using all the ingredients.

Last year’s champion, Chef Daniel Capello of the Chenal Country Club, will defend his title later this year against today’s winner.

Capello, who has been executive chef at the Chenal Country Club since 2009, has been cooking professionally for two decades. Before moving to Arkansas, the Texas native was an executive chef at several Houston restaurants, as well as for the corporate dining facility of British Petroleum. He’s one of just a handful of chefs in the state who have earned the American Culinary Federation’s Certified Executive Chef designation.

Tickets to the final Diamond Chef competition, to be held June 7 at the Statehouse Convention Center, are $150 and include a three-course meal. (For tickets, contact Yvette Henton at (501) 812-2271 or yhenton@pulaskitech.edu.)

As a student of Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School, I encourage you to follow along, or even come by and watch the excitement. If you have a little extra cash floating around, consider bidding on one of tonight’s dishes by live auction, and/or purchase a ticket for the June final. Both will help buy equipment for the school, so we can continue bringing up the next generation of great Arkansas chefs.

Stay tuned for live updates!

Chef Jamie McAfee and sous Duke Eyman take a few moments to evaluate the mystery ingredients.

 

 

Chef Cindy East-Malik quickly removes items from her mystery basket, alongside sous Billy Ginocchio.

Round 1 winning dish by Chef East-Malik and sous Billy Ginocchio.

 

 

Heat 1: Chef Cindy East-Malik (Sous Billy Ginocchio), PTC Arkansas Culinary School vs. Chef Jamie McAfee (sous Duke Eyman), Pine Bluff Country Club.
Mystery Basket: Coffee-flavored Patron, Hershey chocolate bar, ribeye, catfish, pork rinds, horned melon, pineapple, blood orange and nectarines.
WINNER: Chef East-Malik.

Heat 2: Chef Brian Kerns of Country Club of Little Rock (sous Jon Bobo) vs. Chef Jacob Peck of Forty-Two.
Mystery Basket: Skirt steak, red drum, Cocoa Krispies, granola bars, white asparagus, assorted fruits, Bacardi aged rum.
WINNER: Chef Brian Kerns. Note: Win was by only 1/4 point. Kerns, 33/50; Peck, 32.75/50.

Heat 3: Chef Paul Clinton of YaYa’s Euro Bistro (sous Matthew Loman) vs. Chef Jeremy Reeves of Fox Ridge Estate (sous Mark Elliot).
Mystery Basket: Veal, trout, Fruit Loops, Chex party mix, squash blossom, assorted fruits, Gentleman Jack bourbon.
WINNER: Chef Paul Clinton.

Heat 4: Chef Brian Kerns of Country Club of Little Rock (sous Jon Bobo) vs. Chef Cindy East-Malik (sous Billy Ginocchio) of PTC Arkansas Culinary School.
Mystery Basket: Top sirloin, soft shell crab, mini marshmallows, Pringles potato chips, cipollini onions, assorted exotic fruits and Patron Anejo tequila.
WINNER: Chef Cindy East-Malik, who will go on to the final round against Chef Paul Clinton for tonight’s win.

Heat 5/Final: Chef Paul Clinton of YaYa’s (sous Matthew Loman) vs. Chef Cindy East-Malik of PTC Arkansas Culinary School (sous Billy Ginocchio).
Mystery Basket: Beef cheek meat, oysters on the half shell, Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, broccoli rabe (a.k.a. rapini), assorted exotic fruits and Tanqueray Rangpur gin.
WINNER: Chef East-Malik.

Chef East-Malik, lead instructor for Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School, will battle Chef Daniel Capello of the Chenal Country Club on June 7. See above article for ticket information.

Diamond Chef Puts Spotlight on Local Chefs, Culinary School

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NOTE: Please check below for real-time updates.

OK, so I couldn’t stay wordless all day. There’s a big event afoot. And although I can’t get down there until later today (sick kiddo), I know you’re clamoring for updates.

It’s Diamond Chef. And the heat is on.

Eight local chefs and their sous chefs (assistants) are duking it out today at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock, in the lobby bar area. The competition echoes the format of Food Network’s popular show Chopped, requiring the chefs to use items from a mystery basket of ingredients and produce a dish in 40 minutes. Attendance is free, but you’ll have the chance to purchase completed dishes auction-style. The funds will benefit Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School, of which I am a student. Your contributions are greatly appreciated. 😉

The two winning chefs from today’s event will compete on April 8 at the Arkansas Diamond Chef finals event at the Statehouse Convention Center. At this event, chefs will create a three-course meal using a mystery ingredient announced just before the start of competition. Tickets to that event cost $150 per person and can be purchased by calling Jamie Higgins at (501) 812-2271 or e-mailing jhiggins@pulaskitech.edu.

Today’s schedule and results:

12:30 p.m. – Heat 1 – Chef Brian Deloney (Maddie’s Place) vs. Chef Jason Godwin (Simply the Best)
Basket ingredients: Flank steak, whole dill pickles, tequila, Asian pear, tomatillos, white cheddar cheese.

Heat 1 Winner: Chef Jason Godwin, Simply the Best
Judges noted the winner’s thinly sliced beef, making the flank steak tender. He created a pico de gallo topping out of the pear, tequila and lime.

1:30 p.m. – Heat 2 – Chef Timothy Morton (1620) vs. Chef Jason Knapp (Pulaski Tech Big Rock Bistro)
Basket ingredients: Veal, star fruit, gorganzola cheese, coffee grounds, Kahlua, tarot (or taro) root.

Heat 2 Winner: Chef Jason Knapp, Pulaski Tech Big Rock Bistro
The competition was close in this round, with Knapp edging out Morton by just two points.

2:30 p.m. – Heat 3 – Chef Diana Bratton (Café 1217 and Taco Mama) vs. Chef Daniel Capello (Chenal Country Club)
Basket ingredients: Cowboy ribeye, mandarin orange, mandarin kumquat, red wine, chayote squash, cornflakes.

Heat 3 Winner: Chef Daniel Capello, Chenal Country Club
Cowboy steak with cornflake crust, puree of yukon gold potatoes with onion/mandarin orange marmalade, beef roulade with spinach, chayote, tomato and mushrooms.

3:30 p.m. – Heat 4 – Chef Joseph McCullough (Best Impressions) vs. Chef Donnie Ferneau (Ferneau)
Basket ingredients: Brussels sprouts, vodka, yellow mustard, flat iron steak, mangosteen, feta cheese.

Heat 4 Winner: Chef Donnie Ferneau of Ferneau.
Ferneau’s dish was a flat iron steak marinated in mustard and garlic; brussels sprouts, mangosteen and feta cheese ravioli with a wild mushroom veal cream; fried onions and a green onion pesto. Technical judge Andre Poirot, Executive Chef at the Peabody Hotel, said the two dishes were equally delicious, and Ferneau won on creativity with the given ingredients.

5 p.m. – Winner of Heat 1 vs. Winner of Heat 2
Chef Jason Knapp of Pulaski Technical College Big Rock Bistro vs. Chef Jason Godwin of Simply the Best
Basket ingredients: Denver cut beef, kohlrabi, rum, saltine crackers, gorgonzola cheese, gooseberries.

Quarterfinal 1 Winner: Chef Jason Knapp of Pulaski Technical College Big Rock Bistro.
The winning dish (which I got to taste, and was fabulous) included thinly sliced Denver cut beef, mashed potatoes with kohlrabi, a cracker-coated crust with camembert cheese, and a pan sauce with dark rum, butter, cream and gooseberries.

6 p.m. – Winner of Heat 3 vs. Winner of Heat 4
Chef Daniel Capello of Chenal Country Club vs. Chef Donnie Ferneau of Ferneau

Basket ingredients: Sirloin steak, fiddlehead ferns, passionfruit, cottage cheese, peanut butter, brandy.

Quarterfinal 2 Winner: Chef Daniel Capello of Chenal Country Club.
With a perfect score, Chef Capello ousts 2008 Diamond Chef Donnie Ferneau. His dish featured a mushroom and cottage cheese stuffed sirloin, crisp vegetables with fiddlehead ferns, blue cheese gnocchi, smoked sirloin with balsamic onions. The beef was served in a glass cloche filled with smoke.

I’ll update as frequently as possible today with winners and photos. You should also check out the photos and commentary at the Arkansas Times’ Eat Arkansas blog.

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