Taste of Elegance 2009!

Congratulations to the winners of this year's Taste of Elegance pork competition. I was a judge this year along with Chef Tony Hanslits (Chef's Academy), Casey Kenley (dine magazine), Chef Brandon Hamilton (last year's winner), and our man in pork and past president of Indiana Pork from Muncie. (Who I must apologize in advance to for not writing down his name.)

I didn't stay for the awards, but I can share:

1) The quality of all 11 entries was very high. I'm not talking about 11 dishes with 3 or 4 really good. We, as judges collectively had 7 or 8 dishes we'd ranked very highly.

2) The judges, while all experts, did not come to consensus right away on the top 5 or 6 dishes. I mean this to say that it wasn't one of those situations where we all agreed on 1, 2 and 3, then had to decide the rest. We averaged our five scores and ranked accordingly.

3) There was less than a point separating the top 3 scores. There was about half a point between 1 and 2. Was it close? Oh, yes. Even down to fifth or sixth place.

4) There was a wide variety of preparations, cuts, cooking styles and more. Ironically, the biggest failures were the most traditional prep. It's interesting to see how innovative cooking techniques (or well executed but less common classic preparations) won out consistently over the tired and true grill, roast, or "pulled-pork"-style braise.

So, without further ado:

Chef Par Excellence (First): Ryan Nelson, Oceanaire Seafood Room
Pork Sweetbreads (with caul fat on a bed of lentils, working with one of the most difficult parts of a pig, this dish was tender, perfectly seasoned with a well-balanced richness.)

Superior Chef Award (Second): Jeff Bane, The Chef’s Academy
Butter "Scotched" Pork (Holy Crap, I've never had meat the texture of this dish. It was so tender, it was unreal. It was like pork confit.)

Premium Chef Award (Third): Steven R. Masch, Mudsock’s Grill, Noblesville
Yuctan-style Roast Pork in Banana Leaves with Habernero Mint Gastrique (Perfect flavor combinations all centered around the starring-role pork.)

People’s Choice Favorite Entrée: Greg Schiesser, Indiana Downs
Ginger/Cherry Braised Pork and Crispy Pork Streudel (This might have been my personal favorite -- loved the texture and crust on the pork, the cherry/apple compote, and even the pastry streudel.)

People’s Choice Best Display: Jeff Bane, The Chef’s Academy (With his "Scotched" pork display)

Then, a note about the wine pairings. We judged the wine pairing award (won by Indiana Downs) separately and thank goodness we did. Chefs were only given a few minutes to pick an Indiana wine provided (we were told) by the winemakers. Winemakers?! Why on Earth would you not have whites ready at serving temperature? Why on Earth would someone not be opening and tasting these bottles? (One wine was corked and undrinkable!) If Indiana winemakers want to be taken more seriously as producers of quality products, they need to start acting like it and ensure their wines are served properly. (Only one white of the 8 or so we were served was even remotely cold.)

Even with the weather, it was a great turnout by all -- and of course, my favorite piggy ice sculpture was back! I had a blast (thanks for asking me!) and congratulations to all the chefs who braved the weather to come out. Pictures of the dishes, the chefs and crews, and more at Flickr.