Culinary Clash 2019 at Luce
A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of judging my very first culinary competition. This is the eighth year that the InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco has partnered with City College of San Francisco’s Culinary Arts & Hospitality Studies department. This year, five pairs of competitors (a lead chef and sous chef) were hosted at Michelin-starred Luce and Nob Hill Club to plan and execute a dinner of one appetizer, entree, and dessert paired with wines by Neyers, Trinchero, and Ziata. I had the pleasure of judging the March 17th dinner at Luce by Dylan (lead chef) and Mariano (sous chef).
Dylan grew up in San Francisco and spent some of his childhood helping out in his family’s Fillmore neighborhood sushi bar. He began studying design in college, only to realize he wanted to be in the kitchen. He’s finishing his last semester at CCSF and has an externship at State Bird Provisions! Mariano also had family members working in the restaurant industry and his own experience working in a kitchen lead him to culinary school. He sees cooking as a way to explore and connect different cultures — this definitely came across the in the menu that the pair created for the competition.
Our meal started with a kampachi crudo, leche de tigre. The fish was thinly sliced and plated beautifully. I loved the crispy shallots that gave the dish a pop of flavor.
Our entree was a braised short rib with guajillo chili and hoja santa braised baby turnips. The short rib was braised perfectly and quite tender; however, while the chili sauce on the plate gave the dish a pop of color, the heat didn’t quite come through. The dish needed more bold flavors and some salt, but otherwise it was well executed and tasted great with the wine.
We ended the night with a caramel pot de crème with “honeycomb,” which had a slight spice to it. Dessert got a high score from me; it was delicious! I appreciated the added surprise of some heat, which I haven’t had too often in a dessert.
Judging my first culinary competition was exciting and I’ll definitely have my eye on future competitions. These competitors are the future of the culinary world — I can’t wait to see what they accomplish in a few years. In a month or so the winning pairs from Culinary Clash competitions in San Francisco, Mexico, and at other properties across the US will come together for a final showdown. Good luck to all the competitors!
