The Art of the Plate: Tryouts for San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Tryouts for San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition

Left: back Will D'Erasmo and front Michael Wilhite
Right: back Mitchell Cooper and front Shamona Dunmeyer

On Nov. 2nd, four CIC students tried out for the San Pellegrino Almost Famous Competition: Will D’Erasmo, Mitchell Cooper, Shamona Dunmeyer, and Michael Wilhite. Will was the winner of the competition. Michael was the runner up and first alternate. Chef Instructor Joe Branton (in the photo above left), a former San Pellegrino Almost Famous Competition People's Choice Winner was also in attendance and acted as one of the Chef Judges for the competition. The next step for Will is to compete in the SouthEast Regional on January 27 and 28^th at the Art Institute of Atlanta. The finals are in Napa in February. In the meantime, you can keep up with how other teams are doing across the country at http://www.facebook.com/AlmostFamousChef

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What We're Reading

“Eating from the Ground Up”

Out just in time for the vegetables appearing at our farmers markets, Alana Chernila’s cookbook focuses on creatively using every root and leaf. While some of the recipes may be familiar concepts – think stuffed tomatoes – hers are packed with millet, basil, and parsley. Fried rice stars salmon, fennel, and Swiss chard stems. Roasted asparagus are sauced with a combo of butter, garlic, nutritional yeast, and tamari. Stone fruit, raw corn kernels, scallions, basil, and jalapeño make a cool salad for hot weather. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.

"Soul: A Chef's Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes"

“This book is my homage to the cuisine of my family,” Chef Todd Richards writes in his autobiographical collection of essays and recipes. “These are the ingredients of my people. This is my sermon about my Soul food.”

Bringing accolades for his stints at Atlanta’s Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons, James Beard nominations, and, of course, his prowess at Southern cooking, Richards seasons the pot with a powerful bouquet of flavors as he pays his heritage forward. Collards cooked with ham hocks are accented with piquant pickled collard stems. Blueberries are found in fried pies; strawberries are plated with champagne aspic, whipped cream, and honey. Grilled peaches pair with radishes on toast spread with pimiento cheese. Sweet potatoes are layered with cauliflower and crab in a lush gratin.

"Soul food," Richards tells us, "is the original cuisine of the South, born from an involuntary collision of cultures."
Published by Southern Living. $35.