10-10-10 Portland

The cooking competition was fierce at the first Portland Chef Face-off at PureSpace on October 10th, 2010. With nearly 300 voting tasters to please, ten of Portland’s top chefs took their best shot at winning the honors on the evening. When the votes were counted, Rick Widmayer of Screen Door won the Tiffany & Co. Audience Award and took him a beautiful crystal cup trophy to commemorate the win.

The winners were announced about an hour after the tasting and the audience went wild for Widmayer. He had prepared “Smoked Meatloaf with Gold Potato.” The disk was a small slice of meatloaf set atop mashed potatoes.

A panel of judges also picked their own winner after discussion and re-tasting of their top two choices. The three judge panel was unanimous in selecting Ben Bettinger of Beaker and Flask as the winner of the Tiffany & Co. Judges Choice Award.

Bettinger prepared “Braised Pork Belly, Delicata squash and Apple Salad, Apple Cider Gastrique”. The complex and luscious flavors brought unanimous applause from the judges. Their second pick, also unanimous, belonged to David Anderson from Genoa who created “Canneloni stuffed with duck confit”.

“What was amazing about the food selection was the innovation and risk that these dishes showed. These chefs really wanted to win and you could see that in the choices that they made,” said Joe English, President of the 10-10-10 Portland Charity Gala and Portland Chef Face-off.

The competition was intense from all sides. The ten chefs represented all different disciplines from down-home Southern cooking to Greek cuisine. The dishes prepared by each chef were:

– Cameron Addy — belly — “Braised beef shortrib with a fall squash mascarpone puree and fried shallot gremolata”
– David Anderson – Genoa — “Canneloni stuffed with duck confit”
– Ben Bettinger – Beaker & Flask — “Braised Pork Belly, Delicata squash and Apple Salad, Apple Cider Gastrique”
– Chris Carriker – Gilt Club — “24 hour braised brisket with cheese curd potato puree topped with Oregon corn relish”
– Andrew Garret – Cafe Nell – ”
– Gregory Gourdet – Departure — “Spice Roasted Duck Pancakes, Sweet and Sour Butternut Squash, Ginger, Juniper, Gin”
– Lacey-Jane Miller – Eleni’s — “Arni Kokkinisto: Marinated leg of lamb, braised in red wine, fresh herbs, garlic, onion, and roasted tomatoes and peppers”
– Sarah Schafer – Irving Street Kitchen – “Sea Urchin with Dungeness crab”
– Leather Storrs – Noble Rot – “Plum Sour Soda with bacon-ginger snap sandwiches”
– Rick Widmayer – Screen Door – “”Smoked Meatloaf with gold potato”

The audience loved the fact that they were in charge of selecting the winner. Numerous attendees mentioned that they were taking the food tasting seriously at this event. “We know that we’re not just eating, but judging these dishes. So we’re eating slowly and really trying to think about what we like,” said Steve Brown of Portland, Oregon.

After the awarding of the trophy, three-time Grammy Nominee Vanessa Carlton took the stage. She played an intimate set on solo piano. As Kathy Brasington remarked, “I didn’t feel like a concert. It felt like she came and played in our living room.”

The event was a benefit for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society. By all accounts the event was a big success and organizers are already looking forward to a second installment. “The sound of 11-11-11 rolls off the tounge,” said Joe English. Watch for more information in the coming months.

10-10-10 Portland Charity Gala