Four chefs from IACC-member properties representing the United States and Canada participated recently in the IACC Americas Chapter Cook-Off at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, DE. The winners secured their spot for the Global Copper Skillet Competition finale, which will be held in April at IACC-Americas Connect conference at UCLA Luskin Conference Center in Los Angeles. There the 14th Global Copper Skillet Champion will be named.
Shane Hawkins, lead cook at Roanoke, WV's Stonewall Resort, took 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.
Kent Phillips, executive chef at Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre, located in London, Ontario, Canada, won the "Senior Category Americas Cook-Off Award" for his winning dish of smoked paprika petit tenderloin and horseradish jus with seared trout, Asian pear slaw, sweet potato fingerling hash with bacon, and sun-dried tomatoes.
In the competition, the chefs were presented with basic pantry items along with a "mystery basket" of proteins. They were given 30 minutes to prepare, create, and present their creations to local area judges.
"It is extraordinary what our IACC chefs are able to create," says Sean Anderson, vice president of operations, Sodexo Conferencing, and president of the IACC-Americas Chapter. "They have such incredible skill and passion, expressed each and every day, all around the world. 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."
The popular Copper Skillet Competition was introduced in 2004.