Chef Andres Salomon wins round twelve of Discovered Culinary Competition

TORONTO, Feb. 28, 2012 /CNW/ - Chef Andres Salomon, cook at Cowbell restaurant in Toronto, won round twelve of the Discovered Culinary Competition, held Monday night at Nella Cucina in Toronto. Chef Salomon will next compete in the semi-finals at the CRFA Show, March 4 - 6, 2012 at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto.

The Discovered Culinary Competition is a four-month search for the best of Canada's up-and-coming culinary stars. The winning chef will get the opportunity of a lifetime:  an all-expenses-paid trip to spend a week cooking at a Michelin-star restaurant in northern Spain. The competition is sponsored by Discover and presented by Nella Cucina and the CRFA Show.

In a mystery box challenge, the Discovered Culinary Competition features four Canadian chefs competing against the clock each week to create an appetizer, entrée and dessert. In addition to Chef Salomon, the competitors were Adam Ryan, executive chef at Pia's Bakery in Orangeville; Aris Alexiadis, president of Barplay Catering in Toronto; and Justin Bronson, head chef at King Street Trio Uptown restaurant in Waterloo.

The judging panel comprises three local chefs. Last night's panel included Jamie Drummond, senior editor at GoodFoodRevolution.com, a food industry website, and a professional sommelier; Mark Wilson, a culinary consultant; and Claudio Aprile, chef/owner of Origin and Colbourne Lane restaurants, all of Toronto.
The mystery boxes included bagel chips, caper berries, smoked salmon and French's sweet onion mustard for the appetizer round; extra lean ground pork sirloin and lean ground chuck from Liber Terre, fresh dill and mascarpone for the entrée round; and blueberry preserves, kefir yoghurt, lemongrass and fresh lemons for the dessert round.

"I was okay with the mystery box and the kitchen," said Chef Salomon. "But my friends were here to support me and that made me nervous, because they all work in the food industry too."

Chef Salomon made a sour cream and mustard soup for the appetizer round, topped with smoked salmon, sliced caper berries and crumbled bagel chips. For the main course, he combined the meats with a large variety of spices to create a hand formed chorizo sausage, served with a red pepper puree, thinly sliced roasted potatoes and whipped mascarpone with dill. His dessert was a kefir and lemon crepe filled with blueberry preserves, served with a lemongrass syrup.

"It's great to celebrate the next generation of chefs," said judge Aprile. "There's a wonderful culinary scene in Toronto. These chefs tonight all did a great job and tried hard. Chef Salomon showed a refined execution that was hard to beat."

Winners to date:
Round 1 - Chef Arron Carley of Volos restaurant, Toronto
Round 2 - Chef Trish Gill of Beast restaurant, Toronto
Round 3 - Chef William Tolentino of Celestin restaurant, Toronto
Round 4 - Chef John Koplimae of the Drake Hotel, Toronto
Round 5 - Chef Alejandro Winzer of Ristorante Verdicchio, Sudbury
Round 6 - Chef Glenn Sheridan of Le Bon Marché, North Bay
Round 7 - Chef George Tyminski of Annona restaurant, Park Hyatt Hotel, Toronto
Round 8 - Chef Mitchell Lamb of Stone House in Burlington and Lake House in Vineland
Round 9 - Chef Bruno Elsier of the Toronto French School
Round 10 - Chef Michael Bashford of Beretta Farms in Etobicoke
Round 11 - Chef William Serre of Acadia restaurant in Toronto

Chef Salomon will next compete on March 4 or 5 at the CRFA (Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association) Show, Canada's largest event for hospitality professionals. The four semi-final winners will then compete on March 6 to determine the overall winner.

Registration for the CRFA Show (trade only) is open now at www.crfashow.ca.

Prasanthi Vasanthakumar, Communications Specialist, 1-800-387-5649, ext. 4254 or [email protected].