Fill the Grill Championship Cookoff

Posted on by Thor

I rushed to Whole Foods Market after work to witness the Championship Cook off. Steve Saelg, the master chef from The Crooked Spoon Food Truck, was up against Alec Cheak, the master chef from Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar. The chefs were each given $20 to spend then 20 minutes to shop and 20 minutes to prepare a delicious grilled summer meal. The stakes were high, a bronze chef’s trophy sat on the counter top waiting to be claimed. The announcer followed the chefs around the store. At the checkout counter, chef Steve realized he had gone a little over budget. He had to surrender his arugula. Then he hit the $20 mark right on the nose. Chef Alec was also over budget by ¢94. He was going to surrender his nuts, but instead returned a peach.

The chefs then raced to prepare their meals. Sharp knives sliced and diced. Steve was making a deconstructed Italian sausage. He cut up a red pepper. A bagette was toasted as he prepared a tomato sauce with pepper romano and rosemary. Chef Alec was grilling pork chops. He combined fresh lemon juice and olive oil to create a Spring mix. Apples and peaches were grilled. He whisked a balsamic reduction. Roasted red peppers were mixed in with an apricot coulis. Brie cheese was served as a side.

The judges were, Patricia Letakis of Florida Travel and Life, Kendra Lott of Edible Orlando and Bernie Tostanowski the Whole Foods prepared Foods Team Leader. Steve’s Italian Sausage was served first. He instructed the judges to assemble the ingredients into a sandwich. Patricia stacked a Dagwood sized sandwich and chomped in. Bernie held back preferring to use his fork. Chef Alec’s pork chops were savored by the judges. The brie cheese was a bold choice but it was complimented by the grilled fruit.

Chef Steve’s waited with his wife and daughter for the verdict. I figured he might get bonus points for being a family man. In the end, Chef Alec Cheak was declared the winner. The Fill the Grill trophy has a new home at Fleming’s Steak House. I desperately wanted a pork chop, instead I went home to leftovers.

Fill the Grill Cook off 2

Posted on by Thor

The second “Iron Chef” style Cook off at Whole Foods matched chef Tuan Tran from Crave against chef Steve Saelg of the Crooked Spoon Food Truck. The chefs were given $2o to spend and 20 minutes to shop. They then had 20 minutes to prepare a healthy summer meal using an electric grill. The event was again held at Whole Foods Market at Phillips Crossing (8003 Turkey Lake Road). When I arrived the chefs were arranging their respective cooking areas. With a minute to the start of the throw-down, two shopping carts were rolled out for the chefs. An announcer began a countdown to the start of the competition. As the chefs shopped I sketched the grilling area.

Chef Tuan Tran arrived at his grilling station first. He prepared a Korean grilled beef marinated in soy sauce with a pepper paste, sesame seeds and sugar. He also made cellophane noodles marinated in soy, sesame seed oil and garlic, all grilled in butter. He also grilled tomatoes with olive oil, garlic and minced cilantro. The crowning touch was that he also bought several bottles of Vietnamese beer to serve with his dish.

Chef Steve Saelg was busy preparing a chili crusted chicken thighs with ginger, fennel served with couscous. He also grilled avocado and sliced orange wheels sprinkled with a ginger fennel vinaigrette. The chefs moved with swift deliberation. Before I knew it they were done.

I continued sketching as the three judges tasted the dishes and deliberated. Chef Steve Saelg was declared the winner. He will go to the final competition against the winner of the previous throw-down, Alec Cheak of Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.

Fill the Grill Cook-off

Posted on by Thor

Whole Foods Market at Phillips Crossing (8003 Turkey Lake Road) hosted the first of three celebrity chef cook-offs. In this high stakes battle, renowned local chef John Rivers of 4 Rivers Smokehouse competed against Alec Cheak of Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar. Each chef was given $20 and 20 minutes to speed shop for ingredients. They then had 20 minutes to make a delicious, creative summer meal using only a grill. They stood side by side with their shopping carts as the announcer counted down to the start. As the chefs wandered the aisles, I remained behind sketching the grilling area. Oriane Lluch who helped organize the event, gave me a press release. A Sentinel reporter video taped the competition.

Both chefs spent $19 and change on their ingredients. John Rivers hit an unexpected snag when he realized that the calamari steaks he had purchased were frozen. They were sent back and fresh steaks were ordered. Then John discovered that his grill wasn’t working. Unfazed, he ran to a grill in the far corner of the kitchen to grill his fresh vegetables. I began to wonder if the competition was rigged. Whole, fresh, local and seasonal ingredients were used by both chefs. Alec grilled a Pacific Cod over a bed of grilled spring leaks, jicama and mango, accompanied with a balsamic orange, blackberry reduction. John prepared a grilled calamari steak with cilantro along with grilled red and yellow peppers and fresh carrots, topped with a ginger BBQ sauce.

Three judges tasted the light summer dishes deliberating with each taste. The announcer stirred the crowd raising the excitement. After some deliberation, chef Alec Cheak was declared the winner. He smiled broadly. On August 16th Chef Tuan Tran of Crave will face off against Chef Steve Saelg of the Crooked Spoon. The winner of that cook-off will then face off against chef Alec Cheak in the final cook-off on August 30th. The cook-offs all happen at Whole Foods at 6:30pm. I realized as I was leaving that I was hungry. I went home and popped a frozen diner in the microwave.