Last week I was invited by two of my favorite people, Billy Grant of the Purple Wine Group and Janell Dusi of JDusi Wines (rockstars of the California wine scene!) to take part in a spectacular event put on by ZAP Zinfandel Advocates & Producers. If you haven't been to the ZAP Zinfest in SF put it on your bucket list..hopefully I'll be pouring! ZAP is at it again, they have created their own version of Iron Chef where two local restaurants are matched up with two local winemakers in a six course cooking challenge with three star ingredients, two of which have to be present in each course. The goal is to prepare dishes that aren't usually paired with Zinfandel and show how they can be complemented by them...all within a couple hours. The teams were scored on creativity, presentation and of course taste.
Location:
Ingredients:
Peaches
Pork Belly
(I can barely type that word without shaking!)
Cod
Teams:
Team Red - 1300 on Fillmore and Three Wine Company ~ Winemaker Matt Kline
vs.
Team Black - Hayes Street Grill and D Cubed Cellars ~ Winemaker Duane Dappen
(my team)
The Menus:
Team Red
Bourbon Hickory Smoked Pork Belly
Celery Root & Parsnip Puree, Roasted Peaches
paired with ZAP 2009 Heritage Vineyard
Black Cod, Smoked Ham Hock-Red Wine Sauce
Shelling Pea Cake
paired with 2008 Old Vine, Contra Costa County
Grilled Ribeye Steak
Yukon Gold Potato Hash, Beurre Rouge
paired with 2008 Evangelho Vineyard, Contra Costa County
Mississippi Mud Pie
Roast Peaches Compote
paired with 2004 Trinitas Revelation, Late Harvest Cuvee
Team Black
Grilled Shrimp Wrapped In Crispy Pork Belly
Gingered Peach Dipping Sauce, Garnished With Fried Tofu & Black Sesame Seeds
paired with ZAP 2009 Heritage Vineyard
Salad of Seared Scallops
Daikon, Mizuna, Peaches, Shiso & Pork Belly Lardons, Ponzu-Ginger Dressing & Yuzu Cream
paired with 2007 Napa Valley Zinfandel
Fall Stew
Rock Cod, Clams, Pork Belly & Kabocha in Mirin-Dashi-Spy broth,
Garnished With Toasted Nori & Green Onions
paired with 2007 Korte Ranch Zinfandel
Peach & Yuzu Galette
Gingered Cream, Toasted Almonds & Candied Pork Belly
paired with 2005 Late Harvest Zinfandel
As intensely incredible as that sounds all I heard was Charlie Brown's teacher in between the words professional kitchen, rockstar chefs, fancy food, fantastic wines and no dishes. We were so excited just to be there! Competition mode kicked in much later. I've never had to create edible magic in such a small amount of time. At my house we eat when it's ready, but at City College food must be plated be 7:30p.m.
 |
| Team Black a.k.a. The Motley Crew ~ We're a lot tougher then we look, as team red came to find out! P.S. We had to hold Janell back! That's my spanking hand! Jonni's not really waving, it's a karate chop AND yes, Tony (the guy in the back) is certifiable! |
We had no idea what to expect when entering the halls of the culinary arts department. We were greeted with smiling faces, handed name tags (one of the few times I haven't been inclined to use an alias) and given our colors. There was some friendly bantering between black and red...picture the news team battle of 'Anchorman' but with kitchen utensils!
This post is going to sound more biased than I would like it to, not because I have anything against the team red but because we were so crazy busy once we walked through those doors I almost forgot the red team was on the other side of our kitchen. So sorry, no secret tips or even any photos of our challengers.
As the kitchen doors opened the glazed deer in the headlight looks fell off our faces, jokes/heavy hints about CamelBaks for the wine turned to murmurs and nervous chuckles as we stared in awe. Eventually we pulled ourselves together, toasted, cheered, high-fived a little about how rad we are and rushed to our corner of the "boxing ring". Our Mickey was Rob Zaborny. His quiet but confident command of his crew insured our success.
This post is going to sound more biased than I would like it to, not because I have anything against the team red but because we were so crazy busy once we walked through those doors I almost forgot the red team was on the other side of our kitchen. So sorry, no secret tips or even any photos of our challengers.
As the kitchen doors opened the glazed deer in the headlight looks fell off our faces, jokes/heavy hints about CamelBaks for the wine turned to murmurs and nervous chuckles as we stared in awe. Eventually we pulled ourselves together, toasted, cheered, high-fived a little about how rad we are and rushed to our corner of the "boxing ring". Our Mickey was Rob Zaborny. His quiet but confident command of his crew insured our success.
 |
| "The Rob" whipping up ponzu-ginger dressing. |
 |
| Forget gin & juice when there is ginger juice! |
ginger tip: use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin and then peel the ginger and squeeze the pile of ginger into whatever you are seasoning...no more grating, slicing or dicing!
 |
| Pork Belly Wrapped Prawns, Wine and Crazy Tony what could be better? |
 |
| Oh...it's on! |
 |
| Billy searing scallops. |
 |
| Lots and lots of scallops... |
 |
| Candied Pork Belly...more flashy than diamonds in this joint! |
 |
| Perfect little peach pockets! |
The madness is over...or so we thought.
We've rushed to beat the clock and we are ushered (more like rolled) to our tables to partake in this epic eating event after several taste tests and wine samples. Each course was introduced by it's creator. The way Rob described his thought process and how he pulled the flavors together to make everything pop it's no wonder his restaurant is the staple of Hayes Valley that it is. David of 1300 on Fillmore's velvety British accent should be considered an additional ingredient. Rob's (later dubbed "The Rob") courses were light, crisp and exploded with flavor. David's courses were big hearty hints of home cooking that warmed your very core. I have never been so happy not to be a judge! It seemed neck and neck.
The winner was finally revealed although we truly all felt like winners after our date with gluttony!
We've rushed to beat the clock and we are ushered (more like rolled) to our tables to partake in this epic eating event after several taste tests and wine samples. Each course was introduced by it's creator. The way Rob described his thought process and how he pulled the flavors together to make everything pop it's no wonder his restaurant is the staple of Hayes Valley that it is. David of 1300 on Fillmore's velvety British accent should be considered an additional ingredient. Rob's (later dubbed "The Rob") courses were light, crisp and exploded with flavor. David's courses were big hearty hints of home cooking that warmed your very core. I have never been so happy not to be a judge! It seemed neck and neck.
The winner was finally revealed although we truly all felt like winners after our date with gluttony!
"The Rob" took honors and it was well deserved.
Both Rob and David were gracious and charming. I plan on paying a visit to Hayes Street Grill next time I catch a show in the Civic Center District and 1300 on Fillmore for Gospel Sunday Brunch! Look them up when planning a trip into the City, you won't be disappointed.
Both Rob and David were gracious and charming. I plan on paying a visit to Hayes Street Grill next time I catch a show in the Civic Center District and 1300 on Fillmore for Gospel Sunday Brunch! Look them up when planning a trip into the City, you won't be disappointed.
No comments:
Post a Comment