Four chefs representing the United States and Canada from IACC-member properties recently competed in the IACC Americas Chapter Cook-Off at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmingon, Del. There was also a Junior Chef category in which IACC conference venue chefs under the age of 26 competed.
The chefs were given basic pantry items and a mystery basket of proteins with 30 minutes to prepare and present their dishes to judges from the local area.
Lead line cook Shane Hawkins from Stonewall Resort in West Virginia won the Junior Category Americas Cook-Off Award for his winning dish: cornmeal-dusted trout with lemon wine butter, pepper seared beef with a whiskey and shiitake cream, fried fingerling potatoes and thyme roasted carrots.
Executive chef Kent Phillips of Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre in Canada, won the Senior Category Americas Cook-Off Award for his dish: smoked paprika petit tenderloin and horseradish jus with seared trout, Asian pear slaw, sweet potato fingerling hash with bacon and sun-dried tomatoes.
“It is extraordinary what our IACC chefs are able to create. They have such incredible skill and passion, expressed each and every day, all around the world,” says Sean Anderson, president, IACC-Americas Chapter. “In presenting this 2017 Americas chapter finale with MPI’s Education Institute, we were able to elevate the excitement of the competition and showcase IACC’s significant culinary talent.”
One senior chef and one junior chef winner from the Americas will advance to compete with IACC chapters from around the world at the International Copper Skillet Competition where the completion’s 14th champion will be named.
