The marketing department of our client (Holland Home) recently chose Fulton Manor's dietary department to compete in the inaugural Senior Chef Showdown. Three other communities (2 Sodexo, 1 self-op) were also involved in a "Chopped" style cooking contest at the host's, Maple Creek, campus. The teams consisted of: a chef (me), an assistant (Dan Stinson) and a resident "helper" (Bud Thompson). There was a pantry of known ingredients, 3 choices for protein and four mystery items. The mystery ingredients were: kale, fresh sweet cherries, Founder's Breakfast Stout and malted milk balls. We had one hour to prepare 4 servings each of a dessert and an entree, including a starch and vegetable. The entries were then judged by a panel of 4 local celebrities.
All of the teams also brought 200 servings of an appetizer of their choice and the residents voted for their favorite. Our team won the appetizer voting with mini savory cheese cakes: bleu cheese, bacon and onion in phyllo dough cups. Maple Creek won the timed event but we are already planning our strategy for getting even next year.
Thirty of our residents attended the event (200 spectators overall) and they won the team spirit contest. They yelled the loudest. The event generated resident interest in the week leading up to it and one of the judges, Rachel Ruiz, was there with TV cameras from her show, 8 West. Our client is very happy with the way they were represented and I'm sure they are okay with getting free TV publicity. Plus, it was a blast!!!!!
Our entry was: petite steak w/ mushroom stout reduction, sweet potato latke, carrot puree and kale chip. Caramel apple cherry crepes flamed in applejack with sweet cream and chopped whoppers.