World Food Championships 2016 Recap

Brenda Washnock making s
Brenda Washnock making sure she has everything she needs.
Whew, Brenda's turn-in c
Whew, Brenda's turn-in complete.
Brenda's Orange Almond B
Brenda's Orange Almond Blueberry Essence Crepes.
Greg Buerger stirring aw
Greg Buerger stirring away in the kitchen.
Greg's Stacked Crepes we
Greg's Stacked Crepes were delicious.
Nancy Judd going over th
Nancy Judd going over the recipe with her sous chef.
Nancy on her way to turn
Nancy on her way to turn-in her finished recipe.
Nancy Angelici dotting h
Nancy Angelici dotting her I's and crossing her T's before the event begins.
Nancy focused and hard a
Nancy focused and hard at work.
Andreanne Geise drizzlin
Andreanne Geise drizzling the maple glaze onto her Bacon Cornbread.
Andreanne hard at work o
Andreanne hard at work on her Bacon, Shrimp & Tomato on Garlic Bacon Toast.
Jasmin Stewart-Harbin be
Jasmin Stewart-Harbin beginning to work on her Steak Oscar.
Focus is key when compet
Focus is key when competing and Jasmin was extremely focused.
Heading to turn her dish
Heading to turn her dish into the judges.
Lori McLain chatting it
Lori McLain chatting it up with the television crew.
Lori putting the finishi
Lori putting the finishing touches on her Kentucky Hot Brown Eggs Benedict.
Twinkie waffles. Yum!
Twinkie waffles. Yum!
Ann Jones focusing on cr
Ann Jones focusing on creating her structured recipe.
Wow, these Biscuits and
Wow, these Biscuits and Gravy with Chicken look amazing!
Hidemi Walsh is ready to
Hidemi Walsh is ready to make amazing sandwiches.
To say Hidemi is a perfe
To say Hidemi is a perfectionist in the kitchen is an understatement.
Amy Freeze preparing her
Amy Freeze preparing her Cuban Sandwich.
Besides serving tasty fo
Besides serving tasty food, presentation is key at the World Food Championships.
George Levinthal diligen
George Levinthal diligently working on his burger in the WFC kitchen.
George staying very focu
George staying very focused while making the long walk to the turn-in table.
George proudly displayin
George proudly displaying his Burger Top 10 award!
Lori Frazee prepping her
Lori Frazee prepping her chili.
Lori and her husband mad
Lori and her husband made a great team in the kitchen.
Ready to turn in her chi
Ready to turn in her chili to the judges.
Darci Bos busy in the ki
Darci Bos busy in the kitchen.
Doesn't Darci's Beef Ten
Doesn't Darci's Beef Tenderloin Chili look delicious!
Greg Buerger getting rea
Greg Buerger getting ready to compete in the Dessert Top 10.
Greg and his sous chef w
Greg and his sous chef were all smiles at the end of competition.
Salted Caramel Apple Dum
Salted Caramel Apple Dumplings on their way to the judges.
Nancy Judd multitasking
Nancy Judd multitasking in the kitchen.
Nancy's spicy Cookies Ca
Nancy's spicy Cookies Caliente with Salty-Sweet Lime Drizzle.
Amy Freeze looking for s
Amy Freeze looking for shells in her crab for her Sandwiches Top 10 recipe.
Amy perfecting her sandw
Amy perfecting her sandwich.
Amy's impressive Deviled
Amy's impressive Deviled Crab Roll.

We may have been at the beach for the World Food Championships, but there was no relaxing going on. Our Just A Pinch cooks were on fire!

Day 1: Dessert

The competition kicked off with Desserts and crepes were on the menu. Boy did our team prepare some tasty treats.

Nancy A. came to Orange Beach completely ready to cook. She prepared Orange Almond Blueberry Essence Crepes for her structured recipe and Caramel Apple Kissed Brownie Pielettes for her signature dish smoothly and beautifully.

Having competed before Nancy Judd knew what was ahead. Nancy was organized and her food styling and presentation was beautiful as always.

Brenda Washnock’s signature recipe was Creamy Bourbon and Toasted Pecan Pate a Choux. Her bourbon whipped cream was amazing and may have been the most “tasted” ingredient that day. She also made beautiful Orange Chantilly Cream Filled Basil Crepes that looked delectable.

Stacked Crepes and Salted Caramel Apple Dumplings were what Greg Buerger created in his kitchen and wow were they good.

Those competing in Desserts would have to wait until Day 2 to find out where they placed in the competition.

Day 2: Bacon, Steak and Opening Round Awards

Bacon was up first on Day 2 and Andreanne Geise was ready to get into the kitchen. She prepared a Bacon Cornbread with a Maple Bacon Glaze over it. Wow, cornbread alone is amazing but add bacon and maple… Delicious!

Andreanne also made her Bacon, Shrimp & Tomato on Garlic Bacon Toast. She had this fun gadget that made slicing the avocado that went on top a breeze. I love learning about new gadgets and I’m adding it to my kitchen.

Jasmin Stewart-Harbin got to work in Steak and was very impressive. Jasmin was able to turn in her entry on time besides having a few technical difficulties. Can you imagine having a blender and a food processor that didn’t work while competing?

That happened to Jasmin, but she was cool, calm and collected. She crushed things by hand and even whisked up a hollandaise sauce for her Steak Oscar. While she didn’t place in the Top 10, she impressed chefs from other categories.

The Top 10 finalists were announced from yesterday’s Dessert competition. Greg Buerger took 4th place and Nancy Judd placed 7th. They’ll both be continuing onto the Dessert Top 10.

Day 3: Recipe, Sandwich, Burger and Opening Round Results

The Recipe category this year was Breakfast. Lori McLain was her sweet, funny self while competing. She created a Kentucky Hot Brown Eggs Benedict along with a Twinkie Waffle. I snuck a taste of both and they were delicious!

Ann Jones was also competing. She made Biscuits and Gravy with Chicken and Eggs Benedict. It looked amazing. Unfortunately, there was a hiccup at turn-in time and a late turn-in resulted in disqualification. A hard moment, but Ann handled herself like a professional.

Later in the day, Sandwich got underway. Hidemi Walsh is brilliant with her combination of flavors. She made her Caprese and Shrimp Cocktail Sandwich that earned her spot at the World Food Championship along with a delicious Cuban sandwich.

A Cuban sandwich was the required sandwich for all Sandwich competitors. Being from Florida, Amy Freeze had made a few of these over the years and nailed her sandwich. In fact, when the Sandwich Top 10 awards were announced later that evening, Amy was in 1st place.

Shea Goldstein and George Levinthal were up next competing in Burgers. The structured build had to be created with Polynesian BUBBA Burgers and both created beautiful burgers.

Shea’s signature burger had a delicious remoulade sauce mixed with the meat. She topped them with a fried green tomato and a drizzle of remoulade. It was very yummy.

George’s signature Chorizo Bacon Cheddarburger wowed the judges. He ended up in 10th place and was moving on in the competition.

Day 4: Top 10 Round & Results Dessert; Opening Round Chili

The very popular Chili category got underway. Lori Frazee and Darci Bos got into their kitchens and started cooking.

Lori prepared her Blazin’ BBQ Traditional Chili as her signature chili. I’ve tasted this before and know how good it is. She changed direction and made a white chicken for her other entry. Lori’s husband was her sous chef and they made a great team.

For her red chili entry, Darci Bos turned in a Beef Tenderloin Chili. My oh my, tenderloin mixed with the spices is just delicious.

Throughout the event, there are demonstrations happening and I was able to catch Darci’s demo. She, along with her husband, made an oatmeal dressing for Thanksgiving. It was fabulous and hopefully, she shares the recipe.

Dessert was next up and cream cheese was the required element. Greg created Salted Caramel Cheese Apple Dumplings which were a winner in my book. Nancy prepared her sweet, spicy and delicious Cookies Caliente with Salty-Sweet Lime Drizzle.

Day 5: Top 10 Round & Results Sandwich, Burger, Chili

On Day 5, Amy Freeze and George Levinthal were in their kitchens cooking up a storm.

Amy produced an amazing Deviled Crab Roll. Her sandwich was layered with slaw, crab and a cheese slaw all stuffed inside awesome bread. When testing the recipe on her family, Amy said there wasn’t a peep of sound at the dinner table. When does that ever happen when you have kids? After I tried a bite of the sandwich, I understood why. It was delicious.

George Levinthal made another amazing burger. BUBBA burgers had to be used again and George really perfected a method of preparing these burgers that are to be grilled from frozen. His burgers were extremely moist and you’d never know they were frozen. Jim Beam was required and George created an amazing bacon and bourbon jam to top his burger. Served with a bourbon milkshake on the side, it was fun and tasty.

Unfortunately this year, team Just A Pinch didn’t have any cooks at the Final Table, but we couldn’t be any prouder. This team gave everything they had in the kitchen and put their best recipes forward. Congrats Team Just A Pinch!