Flames of Success!

December 2, 2009 in Austin, Chef David Bull, Chefs, Events, TX | 4 comments

Chefs Under Fire™ came and went and left us smiling from its success! From the fervent competition in the kitchen to Jim White’s flavorful commentary to the judge’s insightful remarks, Chefs Under Fire was chock-full of excitement, laughs, and entertainment. At the end of the night, our adept celebrity judges, Chef David Bull, Chef Tyson Cole, and Chef Kent Rathbun, were proud to finally announce the three outstanding winners. After quiet deliberation, Chef Bull selected Keith A. Hildebrandt II (of Texas Culinary Academy) for his exquisite (and inverted!) chicken and pancetta cacciatore, Chef Cole chose Loren Root for his unique, refined version of Cole’s Uchiviche dish, and Chef Rathbun picked Martin Weaver (also a graduate of Texas Culinary Academy) for his original, pumpkin-infused barbecue sauce and pork tenderloin.  And as an additional surprise from the judges, they even awarded Keith Hildebrandt the Best in Presentation award for his beautiful Deconstructed Chicken Cacciatore!
Keith Hildebrandt's Deconstructed Chicken Cacciatore

Keith Hildebrandt's Deconstructed Chicken Cacciatore

 

As all three of the judges noted, each contestant created drastically different versions of each recipe, which made the judging exceptionally challenging. Despite the stiff competition between the contestants, the three best dishes certainly stood out, and both Keeper Collection and The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas are very proud of 3 the acclaimed winners! We also want to give a special thank you for the commitment, cooperation, creativity, and above all, the magnificent attitudes of all nine finalists. In addition to the three winners, Alysha Cable (of World Beat Cuisine), Trysh Gonzales and Eli Ollinger (of The Art Institute of Austin) Steve Crisler (of Chefs Creative), Tonni Hinojosa (of HinoSpices™ Rio Grande Catering), and Maite Palma (a graduate of the Hospitality & Culinary Education program at Collin College) were carefully selected as finalists among numerous applicants.  Their dishes—and dedication—deserve high praise. Everyone who attended the event would agree that each contestant brought his or her own unique spice to the night!

Keeper Collection, LLC and The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas would also like to recognize Jon Pluskota and his Audio-Visual Team from the Art Institute of Austin for their hard work and organization that was vital in capturing the entire event on film. We can’t wait to release the footage! In addition, we want to thank the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center for providing such a state-of-the-art setting for Chefs Under Fire.

Thank you to everyone who contributed in making Chefs Under Fire a flaming success! After all, the dedication, support, and enthusiasm of everyone involved is what truly fueled the night’s flame.

Did you attend Chefs Under Fire?  Comment here to let us know what you thought!

For those of you who didn’t get to attend Chefs Under Fire, check out these great photos from John of Austin and Austin Food Journal’s recap of the event!

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  1. Lauren’s avatar

    Lauren on December 2, 2009 at 6:07 pm

    I went and it was a very nice event—congrats to the winners! (and to all the planners!) Some points that would be helpful for next time would be if the chefs or announcer explained more clearly what the original recipe was at the beginning of each portion, and which ingredients had to stay the same for the contest, so people watching could remember the guidelines. Also, since the contestants put an extra plate on a table beside the judges, it would have been nice to get a still picture of that to put up on the screen while the chefs were talking about it and eating theirs, so the audience could see what they were talking about, since everyone was interested. The reception beforehand was very nice with the tapas, wine, and chefs. I think it would be nice to make this an annual event in Austin!

  2. KeeperTeam’s avatar

    KeeperTeam on December 3, 2009 at 12:34 pm

    Thanks Lauren! We agree with your comments and have them on the list for next year’s event! Look forward to seeing you there!

  3. Melanie’s avatar

    Melanie on December 14, 2009 at 11:13 am

    Congrats to the three winners!

    Martin Weaver is my brother and because I work full-time up in Lubbock, TX, I was unable to attend the event. I can’t wait for it to be televised and/or put on the internet. I do not have television, but I do have highspeed internet, so if it could be put online, that would be great! I talked to someone a few weeks ago, and she said it will take a few weeks to get everything figured out as far as putting the show online or television, but that they would definitely let us know, so I’m waiting patiently. Thanks!

    Melanie

  4. KeeperTeam’s avatar

    KeeperTeam on December 14, 2009 at 3:06 pm

    Thanks for your interest Melanie. We will keep you posted as we hear from the AV gurus! Your brother, Martin, was a spirited competitor. We enjoyed having him in the competition and look forward to watching his culinary career as it unfolds. Best to you and your family.

    Keeper Collection Team