Nestle Professionals Minor's Challenge 2011

I received an email from Jill Smith the C-CAP AZ President , with an invitation to enter this Cooking competition. the same month that i received it my Cousin Irene was talking about running a Marathon in San Francisco.... I was all for going with her and running this marathon with her. but....MY MOTHER, had to push the culinary competition on me and  goes and tells my Chef , and my chef is all Excited

Sorry Irene, I really honestly wanted to spend a weekend with you and Run this Marathon along side you, plus enjoy some yummy food in SF...Oh well ...Maybe Next time!!!

here is a snip of what the competition is about...I had to incorporate 2 of their products into my dish, i could make 1 - 3 courses , and i would have 1 hour to cook and present. the products are Base , beef to chicken to even seafood ...they had so many it was hard for me to decide which ones i wanted to use.


2 weeks before i head out to to New York (ill post about The new york Thingy in a bit) i submit the recipe for the Competition in hopes that i get to cook....since i won't be able to go run a Marathon. i decide with the help from my chef to make ....Roasted Halibut ( and use the Minor's Seafood base to make the crust and also season it)  with Summer Squash and Crab Risotto (use Minor's Crab base), Heirloom Tomato and sweet corn salad

the week that i am to leave to New York , i receive an email from Chef Dragos (he's the one running the event) stating that i was supposed to incorporate a beef base and a chicken base in my recipe..."WTF...I don't have time, Chef has me working every day and i leave to NY on Saturday Morning...Oh well i guess i wont be competing"  i should have just told my cousin Irene I would go with her!!!!!! 

on July 19 , I had a dentist appointment and my mother was taking me, she arrives at the house to pick me up and tells me that I have an email from Chef Dragos.....we open it up and reads "congratulations Chris, Can you start at 9:15 on July 30th at Arizona Culinary Institute for the Minor's competition?"""  HECK YEA!!!!!!   so i replay right away and tel them yes that the time would be perfect ...my mom Text mrs' piper and i later send Jill an email stating that I have been chosen to compete. later that day i call Chef and tell him that they choose my recipe...he was just as excited as i was.

a few days before competition i find out that the Crab Base was not going to be available for me to use, no problem ill do something else. I later go pick up all the products that i need to use for my recipe, they gave me Seafood base, herb Provencal base , and a chicken stock base, they also gave a new product to try out...Frozen Parmesans Risotto...FROZEN RISOTTO...this is a slap in the face to Chef's ...wow ..they asked me to take it and test it out and see what i thought of it ....i guess ill just have to test it out.  3 days before the competition i test the risotto at home and i have to say not bad at all...for the home cooks , this is perfect, will i use this , not if i want to show that i can cook a good risotto. 

week of competition, i do a test run of the dish at the parlor  , made risotto about 20 million times...i can now say my risotto skills are 100% .

day of competition, Running late ...we had to go to the Parlor to pick up fresh  oregano as we could not find any at the stores.

we arrive at the Arizona Culinary Institute , Chef Dragos greets me shows me to my work station and gives me my times, tells me who I'm competing against. WHO AM I COMPETING AGAINST....CAN YOU SAY THAT AGAIN PLEASE!!!!!!!   WOW...I'm competing against Chef Lenard Rubin ( i later find out that he has won the last 3), executive chef of the Hyatt in Phoenix, and a few other chefs ....I was the only high school student...WOW...I have no chance in hell to win.

i prep my area and start, i notice that i do not have enough time to cook the risotto and decide on using the Parmesan Risotto that was given to me. ...50 minutes later and i am done cooking my fish looks absolutely beautiful , the crust looks so golden and just perfect, the seasoning on the risotto is great and the salad with the grilled corn looks and taste great...off to present my dish. 

Simple but Delicious!!!!

when i took the dish to the judges , i was nervous , i should have told them that i had to change the recipe since there was no crab base, and all it was was the summer squash risotto, I  had no idea that I  was going to talk to them.

after i go and clean my work station take all my dishes to get washed and pack my things ...I am done , now time to wait for everyone to present and then for results.

i am really thinking about my dish, these other competitors all plated between 2 - 3 dishes, some of them even made drinks with the bases... i even turned to my mom who was sitting next to me and tell her  "this was dumb...there is no way I'm going to win anything, i should have just said no and gone to work and get paid to cook!!"  i was really, really, really, bumbed out...there is no way my dish has a chance against these chefs, just no way!!

Chefs waiting as well.

RESULT TIME!!!!


chef Dragos gave a little speech , telling us that if we don't win let this be an experience to better our techniques and presentations, to keep in mind what the judges tell us about our dishes.

oh and i had no clue we all were going to take home money....as he calls out names he also calls out amounts , the first 2 were $75.00 , then $100., then $150.00 , and then he calls out 3 rd place winner ...CHRIS ANDRADE $300.00  ...WHAT!!!!!  did he just call out my name ????? ...3rd PLACE...are you for real.......I have to say... i was perplexed, shocked, and so many other emotions running down my body....Thanks MOM ...for telling me what you did right before the results.  ...2nd place winner won $500.00 and 1st place won $1000.00  ...I have already made up my mind that i will compete next year and try for first place.

I WON....$300.00  WOW!!!!!!!!!

my name announced for 3rd place ...notice the guy next to me ...doesn't look happy...3RD PLACE!!!!!!!

WOW...never imagined i would take 3rd place !!!

after the awards were passed out , judges talked to each of us about our dishes, only 2 bad comment- the risotto could have had a bit more seasoning and the salad a touch more of oil , but the Fish had a nice color and the risotto to perfection. ..they said had i seasoned the risotto just right and added that touch of oil to the salad i would have taken 2nd place. 

after the awards i go talk to Chef Rubin , get some tips from him and really pick his brain about what i can do to improve . he then tells me to give him a call and come by to his restaurant, he also gave me his menu and tells me to practice making some of his sauces and start there.

These are Chef Rubin's Dishes , that won him first prize , he sous-vide the Duck... man it was so tender

and in case your wondering what Sous-Vide ...is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath, The intention is to cook the item evenly, not overcook the outside while still keeping the inside at the same 'doneness' and to keep the food juicier.

2nd place winner