FLEMING’S ANNOUNCES CULINARY COMPETITION WINNERS
(Newport Beach, CA October 21, 2008) In a surprise upset, the winner of Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar’s Culinary Competition was the youngest and least experienced of the six culinary student finalists. Kevin Bui, 19, of Cypress and a freshman in Cypress College’s Hotel Restaurant Culinary Arts program, walked off the with the $5,000 first prize.In second place winning $3,000 was Corona del Mar resident Patrick DiGiacomo, 53, a student at Laguna Culinary Arts. Caitlin Knoop, 20, of San Clemente and enrolled in Orange Coast College’s Culinary Arts program, came in third, winning $2,000. As part of the restaurant’s tenth anniversary celebration, Fleming’s sponsored a culinary competition Saturday, October 18th, where six finalists created a two course menu utilizing Fleming’s core ingredients of jumbo shrimp, beef tenderloin, potatoes, mushrooms and spinach or asparagus. The 90 minute cook off was followed by a judging period where the dishes were evaluated on taste, creativity and plating. The three judges were Orange County Register food editor Cathy Thomas; celebrity chef and radio personality Jamie Gwen; and Fleming’s executive company chef Russell Skall.
Bui’s winning dishes were Gone Shrimpin: Shrimp served in a martini glass in an avocado salad with tomato, radish, lime, cilantro and red onion, garnished with a deep-fried green olive; and Je Ne Sais Quoi: Roasted beef tenderloin with cabernet sauvignon veal demi-glace sauce with mashed potatoes and spinach with bacon bits and shallots. Thomas described the dishes as irresistible.
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