A DOZEN FINALISTS TO COMPETE IN

 2007 CALIFORNIA DATE CHEF COMPETITION

Chefs from New York, Seattle, San Francisco and Coachella Valley

Vie for Awards

INDIO, CA. – (March 26, 2007) Twelve finalists from throughout California and across the country will be competing for top awards in Appetizer, Entrée and Dessert categories at the 2007 California Date Chef Competition on Sunday, April 29 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in the Special Events Center.

            The event is open to the public from 2 to 5 p.m.  Cost is $35 per person and includes the opportunity to taste all the finalists’ entries and vote for People’s Choice.  Tickets are available at the door or in advance at Shields Date Gardens, 80-225 Highway 111 at Jefferson, Indio.  Or call for advance reservations at (760) 347-4510. 

            “Our culinary committee had some tough decisions selecting finalists this year,” said Perry Mascitti, executive chef of Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, and head of the judicial committee for the competition.  “Each year, more and more chefs from across the country enter the contest with the intent to win.  They check out the winning entries from prior years and up the level of competition with new ideas and concepts.”

            Appetizers will range from flavors of Spain with a complex salad to a taste of  American Kobe beef with scallops; a goat cheese and date soufflé;  pan seared scallops with foie gras; and a Deglet Noor tamale with chicken and jalapenos paired with sweet and savory dates.

            Stuffed pork roulade, a free range grilled chicken with sweet and spicy date glaze; filet mignon, oyster and potato crusted with dates; and Maine lobster with gnocchi and date butter will tempt the taste buds of judges in the entrée category.

            Date and nutmeg crème caramel, a date ice cream sandwich, white chocolate mousse with rum-soaked date sponge cake and date chocolate timbale with orange confit are just some of the dessert offerings.

            Many former winners are in the running again this year including last year’s Appetizer Winner Gregory Wiener, chef at Tuscany Ristorante, Desert Springs JW Marriott; Best of Show winner Mark Sickenberger, assistant executive chef at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa; and First Place Dessert winner, Jerome Diop, pastry chef at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa; and 2002 People’s Choice winner garde manger Valerie Gray, now at the Space Needle in Seattle, WA.

            Other finalists include Gerald Brinkman, chef/owner of Wellesley Hotel in New York; Neal Harkin, sous chef at the Palace Hotel, San Francisco; Eddie Garcia, sous chef at Morongo Casino, Banning, Calif.; Calvin Yeap, pastry chef at The Club at Morningside, Rancho Mirage, Calif.; Ian Small, sous chef from Tuscany, Desert Springs JW Marriott, Palm Desert; Brett Maddock, chef at Arnold Palmer’s in La Quinta; and from Fantasy Springs, Banquet Chef Jose Luis Bravo and Bistro Chef Joselito Asistio.

            A panel of judges for each category will determine the winners.  Judges include Christine Piccin, chef and contributor to Sante Magazine; Bruce Jacobs, executive chef at Bristol Farms; Chef Harry Brockwell, American Culinary Federation; Chef Christopher Heath Stone, Johnson & Wales University, Denver Colo., and local food/media experts Henry Fenwick, The Desert Sun; Donna Curran, Palm Springs Life; Maurice Bratt, KGAM Radio; and Jackie Olden, chef, author and TV/radio show host.

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