cook their hearts out.”
Under the watchful eye of the judges as well as guests attending the event at Bouchon, the competitors each cooked their individual dish with the help of a young commis chef.
The winner was Lyn Wells from the Canyon Park Café, who impressed judges with her dish of marrow glazed ribeye, braised riblet filled boule, bacon cured ribeye cap, fall vegetable purée, and accompaniments, including broccoli rabe florets and braised leaves, carved butternut squash with candied chestnuts, chanterelle mushrooms, red onion jam, string bean medley, potato crisp, natural jus and herb oil. The runner up was Michael Dengelegi of the Michelin-starred Bouchon Bistro in Yountville.
Wells said the inspiration of her dish was her hometown in Utah and she wanted to stay true to the meat. “What I was hoping to show the judges is the utilisation of the ingredient and I wanted to use every part of it,” she said. “I did this by trimming the “eye” down, using the meat in between the rib bones, cleaning the cap, and taking all the fat and rendering it down. Then I tried to incorporate as many cooking techniques and knife skills, through braising, roasting, and searing.”
Judge Hollingsworth said Wells’ dish won on taste. “Each of the competitors did very well and you could really tell where they came from as they each utilised a lot of the techniques used in the restaurants where they work but also tried to bring their own personality into the competition,” he said. “In the end though, Lyn’s dish stood out because it had the best flavour.”
Wells now gets to decide where she wants to spend her three-month stage. “I have not narrowed down where I want to go yet,” she said. “There are a couple places I have in mind. Per Se or Daniel also in New York, or The French Laundry in Napa Valley.”
Kerstin Kühn is a freelance food and travel writer, specialising in restaurant and chef stories. The
former restaurant editor of
Caterer and Hotelkeeper, she relocated from London to Los Angeles last summer, where she lives with her husband and two cats. With a vast network of chefs from around the world, Kerstin has profiled the likes of Michel Roux, Heston Blumenthal, Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, the Roca brothers and Massimo Bottura.
She has been a contributor to publications including
FOUR Magazine, the
Evening Standard Food and Travel Magazine,
M&C Report,
Design Week,
Frame Magazine and
City and
Canary Wharf Magazines and also writes her own blog,
La Goulue. You can follow Kerstin on Twitter @LaGoulue _
