Iron Chef Arkansas

Chef Matthew Cooper of Lulav displays a black truffle earlier in the week at the AHA Culinary Classic.

Congrats to Chef Matt Cooper of Lulav Modern Eatery, who won this week’s Iron Chef Arkansas competition at the Arkansas Hospitality Association Convention and Trade Show.

I have a particular fondness for this guy because he was one of my instructors at Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School. He wasn’t a regular instructor, brought in from the field, so to speak, to teach our American Regional Cuisine class in my last semester. He brought a refreshing perspective, still being full-time in a professional kitchen and having an interesting range of experience.

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She-Crab Soup by Chef Andre Poirot and culinary staff at the Peabody Hotel.

Second Update: Award winners are now listed.

Updated: Full dish descriptions are now in the photo captions. Please let me know if I missed a chef’s name, as there were often several at one station.

It’s time once again for my favorite food event of the year, the Arkansas Hospitality Association Convention and Trade Show!

Last night, I attended the opening event, the Culinary Classic. It’s a competition event in which Arkansas chefs prepare their best dishes featuring products from sponsors, such as the Arkansas Beef Council and Coleman Dairy. Paying diners visit each chef’s station, as well as an open bar of adult beverages from Glazers, sampling mini plates of each item. There is also a silent auction, live music and lots of great company, seated come-and-go style at round tables as they try their plates in hand.

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Lulav’s Matt Cooper wins 2012 Iron Chef Arkansas at Ark. Hospitality Association Convention

Culinary Classic at Arkansas Hospitality Association Convention 2012