The final matchup between two of Little Rock's top chefs was so close Tuesday that the winner won the contest by only one-half point. Chef Justin Patterson of Southern Gourmasian and chef Elliot Jones of YaYa's Euro Bistro were the final contestants in a day-long competition to see who would go head-to-head against chef Marc Guizol of the Capital Hotel at the Diamond Chef Arkansas finale in two months.
It will be Patterson.
The preliminary competition took place at Pulaski Technical College's Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute and also included chefs Billy Ginocchio of Pulaski Tech, Angela Nardi of Superior Bath House Brewery & Distillery and Jason Knapp of the Green Leaf Grill.
At each matchup, chefs were given a mystery basket and were required to create an appetizing dish. They were then judged by Little Rock chefs Paul Bash and Andre Poirot, chef Jeff Bacon of Charlotte, N.C., and chef Kyle Richardson of Joliet, Ill., on creativity, taste and presentation.
Mystery ingredients in the final basket included bone-in short loin, cobia fish, aged cheddar, cream of tartar, kumquat, peppermint schnapps and a Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Almond Bar. Patterson and his sous-chef, Daniel Rogers, created a smoky bone broth soup, thin sliced loin, fried wonton noodles and Korean fried cobia served with a kumquat chili glaze.
During the competition, guests were able to enjoy a buffet of goodies made by students at the institute, including pate en croute, various pickled items, cheeses and sweets. Guests could also bid on finished dishes from each match and buy raffle tickets for prizes that included a table for 10 at the Diamond Chef Finale, which will take place at the Statehouse Convention Center on June 2.
High Profile on 04/05/2015