USPCA National Conference Iron Chef Contest

Hello

This is my first attempt at blogging. I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences with you.

I recently went to the United States Personal Chef Association Conference in Tuscon, Arizona. It was a wonderul weekend (well 4 days) of eating, drinking, laughing, sharing and learning with some of the greatest minds and talents in the Personal Chef Business.

The JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort was the backdrop for the weekend which included 34 classes taught by fellow Personal Chefs. We had classes ranging from Cajun Cooking, Mexican Cooking, Harnessing the New Media (including blogging) and How to make a good first impression!

Chefs came to the confernce from all over the US and Canada. It was great to see so many old friends and make new friends as well.

A highlight of the weekend for me had to be the Iron Chef Competition. Scott Wilson from Atlanta, Georgia was pitted against Dean Mitchell from Calgary, Alberta. Dean had asked myself and Brianna Nervig (a fellow canuck, now living south of the border). We brainstormed over dinner the night before and then when it came time to see the secret ingredient which turned out to be Guava courtesy of Goya Foods. We were easily able to incorporate the secret ingredient into our recipes. We ended coming with 2 main dishes including a reosette of pork tenderloin with a Jerk Seasoning Rub served with yams that were boiled in guava nectar and finished with chipotle peppers and guava jelly, A trio of salsas including a gazpacho, corn and black bean salsa and a mango mint guava salsa. Our second dish included guava stuffed chicken breast, with risotto with guava essence and cauliflower puree baked in Red pepper cup with a luscious Guava Jelly, onion, ginger confit.

It was a tough decision for the judges as our opponents came up with for dishes including a drink, an appetizer, a pasta dish and and a french toast for dessert. Scott's Team included Linda and Mathew Phillips.

Much to our surprise the judges selected Dean's dishes as the winner. As you can imagine we were so thrilled and proud and look forward to next year as we defend our title.

Congrats Dean and Brianna, it was a pleasure to work with both of you, it was a lot of fun.

That's all for today. Thanks for reading and I will be back soon.

Tim