There's Always Redemption..............

It is true that with some things in life the moment comes and goes and then there you are with the result, permanent and ever unchanging....However, sometimes life affords you that rare opportunity... that second chance..... to make a new history on where you have unfinished business.

For Chef Eric Carter that day was this past Thursday April 23, 2009 in Dayton, Ohio at Store number 4 (ish).

That's the day that Eric (finally) took top spot in his regions Chef Competizion!!!!!!!!

Chef Brian Flowers of Louisville went first, his dish of Crab and Scallop Mousse with Tomato and Pesto Couscous. The dish had great flavor of scallop and for me the Israeli Couscous fantastic, with flavors of pomodoro and pesto mixed together, Tim had also commented about the fantastic flavors of that dish

Next up was Canton, Ohio's Chef Jorge Martinez's Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Red Peppers, Asparagus and a Red Wine Mustard Cream Sauce. Great flavors! The Judges loved the sauce and the colors on the plate, an A+ dish.

Bethel Roads Chef Mark Grant's entry was Couscous Crusted Halibut with Herb Cappelini, Spinach and Lemon. Loved the couscous crust on the halibut. the cappelini was formed into a cake and pan fried crispy and delicious, topped with spinach sauteed in applewood smoked bacon and then topped with the halibut, it was a great symphony between bold and subtle flavors.

Our 2nd place finisher and Chef Competizion Judge in July Chef Leonard Hines entry from Akron Ohio was Halibut Salvia - with the best (and most pandering) presentation to the judges of the day. Chef had paired the Simi Sauvignon Blanc to accompany the dish and poured some for the judges to try with the dish. The bed of the dish was the roasted butternut squash risotto with arugula topped by the sage studded and pancetta wrapped halibut and brown butter sauce. Just a great presentation...

Next was Jeremy Fultz, one of newest chefs at Bravo Franklin Park placing Third with his Cajun Dusted Tuna with Grilled Tomatoes, Asparagus and Pesto Butter Sauce and Crispy Red Onions. The Judges loved this dish....

Our gracious host at Dayton, Curtis Sizemore was the second to last to go with Chicken Scallopini Margherita, the most health conscious dish of the competizion. Seared chicken scallopini topped with fresh mozzarella, roasted roma tomatoes, fresh basil and served with roasted redskin potatoes and a small arugula salad. really fresh, light and healthy!!

It had been a long competition with Eric drawing last spot to present to the judges, typically not the best spot, The judges are full, their pallets fatigued and the tend to be "Fooded Out."

His dish of Veal Bracciole Parmesan with Gnocchi and Sausage was a great dish in design and flavor, with a delicate stuffing made from artichokes, sausage, feta and tomato around veal scallopini that was breaded and fried on a bed of gnocchi with spinach and marinara

I don't exactly know the moment that the room changed, but I noticed after 10 or so seconds, he had the room, he had the judges......


Eric had made up for his 2nd place finish in the first annual Chef Competizion in Livonia when to the amazement of Woody, Tim and Myself he did not take the top spot. Sometimes we get a chance to make thing right.


July 16th, In Columbus we will see if Eric can take Redemption Airlines all the way to Italy............

We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties

I apologize for the not having all the chefs photographs posted, especially Michael Meyer. We had a camera malfunction and should have those pictures retrieved and the rest of the dishes posted next week.

Another Time Around.......

Michael Minch - Chef, wine enthusiast, winner of the second Bravo 2009 Top Chef Competizion Contest and finalist for the second year in a row......

Tuesday morning at Fairlawn Town Center in Dearborn Michigan we had Woody and Tim's Chefs for another battle of appetizers.

The short straw was drawn by Jim Konerth from Buffalo.. He started off by presenting it was combination of roasted Anaheim peppers and crab meat rolled into a spiral and baked topped with breadcrumbs

Next came Greenwood, Indiana's Chef Demetrio Estrada with the Crab Stuffed Grilled Calamari with a Balsamic Citrus sauce, Delicious and chef, at the last minute, had decided to change the sauce on the bottom of the calamari. It was a great balance to the richness of the stuffed calamari

Chef Jack Sekeres of Lansing laid down a supreme dish of Prosciutto Wrapped and Roasted Giant Shrimp with Polenta, Portobello Mushrooms and Arugula. I liked this dish very much from the intricate look of the dish but it was componently easy to assemble. He finished second this year and will be in Columbus to judge the final!!

Chef Rick Rodriguez (Livonia) brought Crispy Stuffed Mushrooms to the party. This dish was very well recieved and was a favorite. As one judge put it "I don't like mushrooms and I like this dish". First breaded and fried then stuffed the pick up was quick and the flavor was incredible.

Chef Mark Daverio from Rochester Hills also did a stuffed calamari, this one had a sausage stuffing, then grilled and sliced on a small bed of Mariniara sauce and surrounded by a boldly flavored saffron sauce.

Livonia's Chef Michael Meyer's Judging panel favorite of Mediterranean inspired Sesame Crusted and Seared Tuna with an Orange, Red Bell Pepper and Mesclun Salad with Orange Balsamic was our third place winner seperated by .2 of a point.


Raul Sanchez's of Bravo #2 (Castleton) Entry of Grilled Scallops with a portobello mushroom and potato salad was, I think, the days boldest move. Garnished with crispy pasta, pesto and the palate cleansing creamy vinaigrette, It ate very light and had a great flavor profile.

In the end It was Mike Minch with his Fireside Scallops. His presentation with the carved out wooden log that held the Lodge cast iron cookware. The dish was comprised of sliced scallops wrapped in speck (Produced in Alto Adige, the German-speaking province in Balzano, Speck received its name from the German word for bacon) and cooked in a Limoncello and scampi butter in the iron skillet topped with fried beet chips.

Two down and four more to go, look for Thursdays post later..............

We Have a Winner?

Chef Joe wondering, where is the love?

Controversy surrounded round one of Bravo's Top Chef Competizion in Pittsburgh at the Cranberry Bravo on the late morning of April 16th.

We had a tie between Chef Joe Vavrek of Crosswoods with his Pan Roasted Salmon cakes, Spring Pea Salad and Herbed Aioli and Chef Mike (a.k.a. Biggie) Kyle of Waterfronts' Fruitta Griglia. His dish of grilled Woodburn Farms peaches with balsamic vinegar, Proscuitto di Parma and Boursin Cheese was simply and perfectly executed.

As always we removed the high and low scores, they tied. We removed the second lowest score, Biggies threatening glance to all those whom oppose him.

They tied!!!!!........
We removed the second highest score and we finally had a winner!!! Chef Biggie. Representing Pittsburgh for the second time in three years!



Of the three scores between, Joe, Biggie and Liel there were .19 of a point difference......

The quality of your presentation will save your bacon if something goes slightly wrong.

In the subbattle that took place we were calling "Iron Chef Battle Funghi" chefs Robert Stackhouse of Galleria and Chef Leil Owens of Robinson, our second runner up, duked it out over stuffed mushroom presentations. Chef Norm Scarberry of McKnight bucked the trend by creating a great light dish with proscuitto wrapped scallops and a fresh and vibrant couscous salad.

Congratulations to all those who competed and those who had to sacrifice so our chefs could compete. Special thanks to Rich and Hope from Cranberry who orchestrated the environment like it was the academy awards!!


Next week brings two competitions, The first one In Michigan with Tim and Woody's regions followed by Lance's region on Thursday in Dayton.

This years competition has an added element to it......All runners up are also invited to Columbus, to JUDGE the final competition on the 15th and 16th of July at the home office!!