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Tag Archives: CCVI

Pope Pumps it Up at CCVI Food Fight

Chefs are a competitive lot, but it was all friendly competition at last week’s CCVI Food Fight 4. Three of the city’s best gathered on stage at The Guild, cooking to beat the clock, impress a panel of judges and benefit the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired.

Alex Pope of Local Pig topped the event, closely followed by Howard Hanna of The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange and Michael Smith of Michael Smith and Extra Virgin in what co-chair Dolly Wood called the tightest point-spread in the event’s four-year history.

Food Fight 4 Competitors: Tony Glamcevski, Howard Hanna, Jerry Fisher, Alex Pope, Michael Smith and Ryan Sciara
Food Fight 4 chefs with their sous chefs: Tony Glamcevski & Howard Hanna, Jerry Fisher & Alex Pope and Michael Smith & Ryan Sciara

This year’s twist? Help from a trio of untrained sous chefs. Jerry Fisher, a self-described food enthusiast who’s never worked in a professional kitchen, backed up Pope. Hanna’s second was Tony Glamcevski, an industry pro who’s worked at Le Fou Frog and Green Dirt Farm and is now front-of-house at The Rieger. And Ryan Sciara of Cellar Rat Wine Merchants served as Smith’s sous.

If it added tension to the evening, you couldn’t tell. Each duo focused on the job at hand, chopping, frying and roasting as efficiently as possible in their make-shift kitchens. Their task: to prepare three courses in one hour, using ingredients from a grocery bag that included cod, flank steak, black walnuts, piquillo peppers and the like.

They could plan everything in advance but for one factor: a secret ingredient announced by honorary chef and chairman David Crum at the outset of the evening. His pick? Sweet potatoes grown by Thane Palmberg.

“It’s the only thing grown locally that’s available this time of year,” said Crum, general manager of Arrowhead Specialty Meats and Food Fight veteran (he served as sous chef to the late John McClure of Starker’s in 2011 and for Patrick Ryan of Port Fonda in 2012). “They’ve been cellared since last fall, and they’re so tasty.”

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Smith Wins CCVI Food Fight

Bright lights, a noisy crowd, microphones and cameras—such was the pressure on Michael Smith (Michael Smith and Extra Virgin), Jennifer Maloney (Cafe Sebastienne) and Patrick Ryan (Port Fonda) in their quest to win Food Fight 3, a benefit for the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired. Each created three courses from a set “grocery list”… Continue Reading

Hanna Tops CCVI Food Fight

It’s hard enough making dinner, but a trio of Kansas City chefs did it onstage Monday night during the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired’s second annual Food Fight. Howard Hanna (chef and co-owner of The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange), John McClure (chef/owner of Starker’s Restaurant) and Charles d’Ablaing (Chaz on the Plaza) had… Continue Reading

Happy Marys

Bloody Marys on Sunday mornings are the best. Even better, though, are Bloody Marys at Happy Gillis after the CCVI Trolley Run. We walked the four mile-route with 10,400 other supporters, then cheered the kiddos in the fun run. Lunch was in order, so we headed to Happy Gillis for biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon… Continue Reading

Food Fight

Three chefs, one stage. That’s what CCVI‘s first-ever Food Fight promised. It delivered so much more. Let’s start with the food. Debbie Gold of The American, Ted Habiger of Room 39 and Colby Garrelts of bluestem had one hour to prepare three courses for four judges a la Iron Chef, working in front of a… Continue Reading