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& Houston Chowhounds Battle Rice Casserole
Winners:
1st: Rebecca Masson, Independent Pastry Chef
2nd: Mark Cox, Mark's American Cuisine
3rd (tie): David Grossman, Branch Water Tavern & Cunninghame West, Valentino
Houston Chronicle write-up: The Sweet Life: Rebecca Masson's night to shine
Houston Press write-up: An Unlikely Winner at the Mushroom Throwdown and slideshow
Houston Chronicle's 29-95.com write-up: Pastry Chef Rebecca Masson Wins Mushroom Cooking Competition and photo gallery Monday, February 1, 2010, 5:00 - 9:30 PM Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse
1510 Texas St @ La Branch, Houston 77002
Event Schedule 4:30 PM Chefs arrive 5:00 PM Doors open 6:00 PM Battle Rice Casserole Potluck Judging by 'Shroom TD chefs 6:00 PM 'Shroom TD Judging by Panel of Judges
9:15 PM Winners announced
Event Information
Be a part of the another exciting food event!
Local star chefs will be competing against each other to win the title of 'Shroom Throwdown (STD) Champion. Whose 'Shroom dish will reign supreme? Houston Chowhounds will competing in an amateur chef Battle Rice Casserole Potluck Throwdown. This competition will be judged by competing chefs in the STD.
Meet our Judges. The panel of judges will be announced at a later date. However, as always, one judge will be a wild card and anyone is eligible to win.
The wild card judge will be chosen by whoever submits the best response to the question, “Why should I be a STD judge?” There is no word limit. Please send your entry to imneverfull@gmail.com by 1/22.
No one leaves hungry. Chef Carlos Rodriguez, our gracious event host, and all STD competitors will be bringing their 'shroom dishes for the patron buffet. Chef Rodriguez will also be supplementing the buffet with hor d'oeuvres and side dishes. Specific requirements are listed under “Guidelines for 'Shroom TD Contestants.”
Any chef who would like to contribute food to the event in exchange for comped tickets, please email imneverfull@gmail.com.
No one leaves thirsty. There will be one fully stocked bar and 2 mobile bars set up during the event. We should have a limited amount of wine and/or liquor donated to the event which will be free of charge while it lasts. The main bar will accept credit cards but we recommend bringing cash to buy drinks. Iced tea and water will be available free of charge. Tickets. A limited number of tickets will be available for sale online via Paypal. Tickets are $30 each and will be available via Eventbrite. Any remaining tickets, if available, will be sold at the door at the day of the event for $40.
Guidelines for 'Shroom TD Contestants
Rules of engagement. Contestants should prepare a dish containing at least one mushroom or fungus as a major component of the dish. Contestants may choose any type of protein(s) for the dish but a protein is not required. If a contestant submits more than one mushroom dish into competition (i.e. a duo or trio of dishes), the judges will be instructed to compute an average score of all dishes presented by the contestant. Only one chef/team per restaurant will be allowed in the competition. Each chef may bring one sous chef to assist in the competition.
Entries for judging. Contestants are required to present and prepare six individual plates or portions for each member of the judging panel. Contestants should bring their own dishware as presentation will be a factored into final scores.
Food for patrons. In addition, contestants are required to bring four full hotel pans of their mushroom dish for the patron buffet. If your budget allows for it, we invite you to bring more or include a side dish. This food must be prepared off-site and brought to the event hot and ready to be served.
Kitchen priviledges. All contestants will have access to V&A's fryers, stove top and ovens, however all ingredients needed must be brought to the event. Prep and cooking space is limited. Although contestants may arrive at the event with components of the final dish already prepared, it is recommend that all finishing touches such as searing, broiling, and frying are done onsite. Please email CRodriguez@ldry.com with any other questions regarding kitchen or cooking logistics.
Compensation. Each chef will be given a $100 stipend toward food expenses. Chefs will receive this stipend in cash on the day of the event. Each chef will also receive three comp tickets to the event: one for a sous chef, two for colleagues, family, or friends. Please email imneverfull@gmail.com with the full names of your guests with your registration so they may be added to the guest list at the door.
Judging: The judging panel will be made up of six judges. Judging will begin at 6pm and chefs will go in the order in which their registration is received. Each chef will present their dish to the panel of judges.
Judging criteria: Mushroom dishes will be judged on the following:
How contestants will be selected: The champions and host of the previous throwdown will have automatic entries in the throwdown. The host of the throwdown is also guaranteed entry into the competition.
To register as a 'Shroom contestant, please email the following information to Jenny Wang at imneverfull@gmail.com by Mon, January 18th @ 5 pm.
Guidelines for Battle Rice Casserole contestants:
Battle Rice Casserole potluck contestants will be comprised of Houston Chowhound amateur chefs. Contestants must prepare their items off-site and bring their entry in a casserole dish hot and ready to be judged. Entries must be ready at the time of judging at 6pm.
Rules of engagement. Entries should be primarily composed of rice and baked in a casserole dish. Other than that, anything goes. Entries can be all meat/poultry, seafood, veggie, or a combination of both. Contestants should also bring their own serving utensils.
Expenses. Each contestant will receive a free ticket to the event and should not expect any other compensation for expenses.
Judging. Judging will begin at 6pm. The judging panel will be comprised of all Throwdown competing chefs. Each contestant may prepare an index card already inscribed with their entry's name and description. This is optional.
Judging Criteria: All entries will be scored by the panel of judges on the following criteria:
To register as a Battle Rice Casserole contestant, please email the following information to cheflambo@yahoo.com by noon, 1/17.
To all contestants: A book of Contestants’ recipes will be compiled, printed, and sold at the event for $5 with 100% of the proceeds benefiting Recipe for Success. Please make every effort to email your recipe to kathryne.castellanos@gmail.com by Sun, Jan 31st .
Remember this contest is for fun, bragging rights and moreover to bring the food community together. Excellent food for excellent people.
Event Announcements:
Keep up with event announcements which will be posted to the bottom of this webpage.  To keep up with event news and discussions, follow Jenny Wang aka @imneverfull on Twitter.
Special thanks to Chef Carlos Rodriguez
of Vic & Anthony's for hosting this event
& to our other event sponsors:
  
For more information about Vic & Anthony's:
For more information about the Houston Chowhounds or to become a member:
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'Shroom Throwdown'Shroom TD T-shirts & Cookbooks
The judges!
Chef Line-up
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