How About A Date?
By Donna
The eighth annual Date Chef Competition will be held on Sunday,
April 27, 2008 in the Special Events Center at Fantasy Springs Resort
Casino in Indio. Presented by the California Date Administrative
Committee and Fantasy Springs Resort Casino to benefit culinary
scholarships through the California Women for Agriculture.
The
competition is open only to professional chefs currently employed by or
owners of a restaurant, catering service, or hotel. Fifteen finalists
from around the country will be selected to present their entry for
judging in the Appetizer, Entrée, and Dessert categories. The winners
will take away more than $5,000 in award money, trophies, and the
opportunity for their restaurant to spotlight the award-winning date
recipe for a month at their establishment.
The professional blind
judging takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. when the nine-member
panel of chefs, food writers, and experts will taste and evaluate the
finalists' entries, judging for best use of dates, originality, flavor,
texture, and overall presentation for 100 possible points. Three judges
in each category will determine First Place Appetizer, Entrée, and
Dessert, and the top scoring in all categories wins Best of Show. The
People's Choice Award is determined by guests' votes cast during the
Gala Awards Ceremony.
Judges include Byron Vaughan, associate publisher for Santé, the Magazine for Restaurant Professionals;
Donna Skidmore, Director of Dole Food Company's Consumer Services;
Christopher Heath Stone, chef-instructor for Johnson & Wales
Culinary Institute, Denver, Colorado; Executive Chef Bruce Jacobs of
Bristol Farms, Henry Fenwick, author and food writer for The Desert Sun; Jackie Olden, author, chef, and host of Cooking with Jackie on KNWZ Radio; Donna Curran, Food Editor for Palm Springs Life Magazine; Maurice Bratt, host of KGAM Radio's Dishing with Maurice; and Joni Ravenna, host of Hello Paradise on KVCR Channel 9 television.
The
event is open to the public from 2 to 4:30 p.m.. Tickets are $35 per
person. During the Gala Awards Reception, guests are invited to sample
all the entries, visit with the chefs, talk with Date Industry leaders,
and vote for their favorite to win the People's Choice Award. Top
entertainment is ongoing to make this a very festive afternoon.
Advance
tickets are available at Shields Date Garden, corner of Jefferson and
Highway 111 in Indio, or call for reservations at 760-347-4510, or
purchase at the door the day of the event.
For more information
about this competition celebrating the partnership between the
Coachella Valley's tourism and agriculture industries, call
800-223-8748 or visit online at www.DatesAreGreat.com.
Best of Show 2007, Stuffed Pork Roulade, created by Chef Jose Luis Bravo, banquet chef at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.
Photography by Arthur Coleman
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