I smell garlic, bacon and fresh herbs permeating through the air. Everywhere I look, there’s a shiny new kitchen appliance proudly heating a pot or pan. A daunting clock hangs from the ceiling. I’m standing inside the world’s largest outdoor kitchen eagerly watching a high-stakes culinary showdown unfold in Kissimmee, Florida. The pressure and excitement is palpable. After all, the World Food Championships is the largest food sport competition on the planet. Yup, food sport. Where 350 teams from around the globe go head-to-head in nine categories (pasta, burger, BBQ, chili, seafood, sandwich, bacon, dessert and recipe) to compete for over $350 000 in cash & prizes and the coveted title of champion…
Surrounded by hundreds of passionate food-lovers (the event is open to the public), I hopped from kitchen to kitchen to see what the chefs were whipping up in the allotted time for each category. With so much talent under one “roof”, I knew there just had to be a few Canadians in the bunch. I was right! And fortunately for me, the man who took top honour in the BBQ Food Fight Night competition and second place overall in the pasta category (his recipe shared below) – Toronto Chef Stephen Perrin – had a few minutes to chat with me about what it’s like to participate in the ultimate food fight. Here’s what he had to say…
What inspired you to enter the world’s largest food sport competition?
I’ve competed in a number of BBQ competitions across North America, including the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue in Tennessee and the Frank X. Tolbert – Wick Fowler Memorial Championship Chili Cookoff in Texas. I love the concept and thrill of competing. The WFC is a bit different from the other competitions I’ve done in that it encompasses a number of different cooking styles, but I knew I was up to the challenge.
Was this your first time competing in WFC? Can you describe the experience?
This was my first time competing in the WFC and I had a fantastic experience. We competed in three different events: the Food Fight Night BBQ competition, the Pasta category (one of the nine core categories at the WFC), and the World Chef Challenge. Needless to say, days were long with our crew typically arriving onsite at 5:30 a.m. and not leaving until 4 p.m. Recipes typically had to be prepped, cooked and plated in about 60 minutes. During one of our test runs, I hated the dish we were preparing and I thought we were done for. Making matters worse, the WFC scores 15 per cent for artistry, and we smashed our presentation plate – which we spent almost three hours hunting for – at 4 a.m. the night before the final. Despite these minor mishaps, I learned a lot about myself and the competition pushed me to create the best dish of my career.
Although this was my first WFC it will not be my last. Next year we’ll come even more prepared. I’ll nail down more recipes, and source more local ingredients, in advance (oh, and we’ll bring some spare serving plates!). In 2016, I plan on leaving the WFC a World Champion.
How did you decide which dishes to showcase?
Most recipes had to be created on the fly, as we learned about each round’s mandatory infused ingredient — from ramen noodles to truffles — about 24 hours before hitting the WFC kitchens. That forced us to get creative. In the preliminary pasta category we had to develop two dishes. One was a signature dish and we could develop the recipe in advance. For that we made was agnolotti stuffed with lobster, mascarpone, ricotta, lemon, fresh sweet peas, wild mushrooms, three cheese sherry crema, and fennel pangrattato. The other dish we had to use ramen, the selected infused ingredient. Therefore, we made 30-ingredient shoyu style ramen noodles that included lobster, white Gulf shrimp, mussels, crab, scallops, Asian roasted pork belly, toasted nori and sesame seeds. That dish put us into the second-place position going into final cook-off.
For the final round, the infused ingredient was truffles so we made tortellini stuffed with mangalitsa pork, black truffle, sage, and ricotta, and topped with foie gras-green pistachio-truffle cremal; iberico ham crisp; grana-pistachio-truffle frico; and shaved, fresh black truffle. I can honestly say this is the best dish I’ve ever served in my career. It scored us 96.6 out of 110.
Were you allowed to do any food prep before the competitions?
No prep work was allowed before the competitions. Usually we had an hour to prep, cook and plate which was quite the challenge. Most recipes had to be created on the fly, as we learned about each round’s mandatory infused ingredient — ramen noodles and truffles — about 24 hours before hitting the WFC kitchens. That forced us to get creative. Recipes had to be submitted the night before an event, but that’s the extent of prep work that was allowed.
Did you take any equipment or ingredients down to Kissimmee with you from Canada?
I didn’t get to bring anything with me. We had to locally source most ingredients, so I now know Orlando like I know Toronto — down to every back alley, grocery store and Asian supermarket.
How did it feel to work in the largest outdoor kitchen in the world?
It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Cooking alongside the other teams was thrilling, and certainly amps up the competition.
What was the most challenging aspect of the competition?
The most challenging aspect was definitely sourcing the necessary ingredients for the competition once we got to Orlando. Given we were sourcing local ingredients we went to a number of different locations and the traffic prevented us from doing anything quickly. In addition, we didn’t sleep much while we were there. We focused on perfecting our dishes well into the night and rolled right into the competitions, which were in the mornings.
Do you feel like Canada was well represented in the competition?
I definitely think Canada was well represented in the competition— it was great to encounter fellow Canadians out there and we were all very supportive of one another. Two Canadian teams won in the burger and chili categories, which was great to see.
Will Canadians be able to taste your two dishes?
Yes, definitely. The tortellini stuffed with Mangalista pork will be featured on the menu at Terra in Thornhill, Sarpa in Richmond Hill and Francobollo in Toronto as of early 2016. A version of the triple seared USDA prime beef tenderloin recipe that I made for the BBQ Fight Night competition will be added to the menu at Rusty’s in Collingwood, also in early 2016.
You said your pasta dish was the best you’ve made in your entire career. Can you share the recipe with us?
Certainly! Here is the recipe for the Tortellini Stuffed With Mangalista Pork, Black Truffle, Sage, and Ricotta / Foie Gras-Green Pistachio-Truffle Crema / Iberico Ham Crisp / Grana-Pistachio-Truffle Frico / Shaved Fresh Black Truffle:
INGREDIENTS:
For the pasta:
1 kg. 00 flour
8 whole eggs
5 egg yolks
50 grams 00 flour for dusting
For the stuffing:
1 lb Mangalista pork tenderloin (ground)
4 oz. pork back fat (ground)
½ lb. ricotta cheese
2 oz. truffled pecorino (grated)
¼ cup grated parmigiana cheese
1 tsp. truffle oil
1 black truffle (diced)
1 whole egg
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup iberico ham minced
1 cup white wine
¼ cup chopped chives
½ leek diced
1 tbsp. rosemary (chopped)
1 tsp. freshly plained nutmeg
1 tsp. aged balsamic
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. spinach (blanched, strained and chopped)
1 tsp. olive oil
¼ cup fennel (finely minced)
1 medium carrot (finely minced)
2 shallots (peeled and finely minced)
3 gloves garlic (peeled and finely minced)
For the sauce:
¼ lb. foie gras (all veins removed and diced)
1 tbsp. all purpose flour
2 shallots (finely diced)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
1 sprig of rosemary
1 tsp. assorted ground peppercorns
¼ cup brandy
1 tsp. freshly plained nutmeg
½ liter 35% cream
3 tbsp. pistachio (peeled and chopped)
1 tsp. fine brunoise black truffle
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
For the grana & pine nut frico:
1 cup grana padano (grated)
¼ cup pistachio (finely minced)
½ black truffle (minced)
For the Iberico ham crisps:
¼ lb. Iberico ham (very finely sliced)
For the asparagus tips garnish:
1 lb. asparagus tips
DIRECTIONS:
For the pasta dough:
Create a well with flour, crack eggs in center. Whisk egg yolks with a fork in a circular motion, incorporating all flour until a dough is formed. Kneed for 5 minutes. Cover and let rest in fridge for 30 minutes. Roll the dough through a pasta machine until desired thickness.
For the stuffing:
Over Medium heat saute the shallots, fennel, leek, carrot, garlic, rosemary, ground pork back fat, ground Iberico Tenderloin and ground Iberico ham in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. De-glaze the pan with the white wine, reduce the wine until completely absorbed. Remove from the heat and add all remaining ingredients and mix though thoroughly. Set aside.
For the sauce:
Over medium heat saute the foie gras and butter. Once rendered add the garlic,shallots, rosemary. Add the flour, lower heat to low and cook until the fat in incorporated almost like a roux. De-glaze with brandy, burn off the alcohol, add the 35% cream, assorted ground peppercorns, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Reduce by 1/4, blitz in a food processor and strain through a fine sieve. Fold in the diced black truffles.
For the grana-pistachio-truffle frico:
Preheat oven to 425 F. Mix the ingredients together. Spoon onto a sheet pan into 1 inch diameter circles. Bake until golden brown. Allow to cool and set aside.
For the Iberico ham crisps:
Preheat the over to 425 F. Slice the Iberico Ham very very thin. Place onto parchment paper and back on a sheet pan until crips
For the asparagus tips garnish:
Peel the asparagus and cut into small spears. Blanch in salted boiling water.
To form the pasta:
Lay the rolled out pasta dough on a floured surface, pipe filling 2 inches apart from one another in a line across the sheet of pasta. Egg wash the edges of the dough and cover with a second sheet of pasta, cut and form dough into desired shape. Blanch the formed stuffed pasta in boiling salted water. When they float remove from the pot with a sieve. Toss into the sauce.
My visit to the World Food Championships was part of a press trip organized by Experience Kissimmee. As always, all reviews and opinions are entirely my own.
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