Sixteen Mexican and 12 Caribbean chefs – the best of the more than 300 chef...
Sixteen Mexican and 12 Caribbean chefs – the best of the more than 300 chefs who originally entered the event – vied for top prizes during the Fifth Annual U.S. Meat Export Federation Mexican and Caribbean Chef Contest, held recently at the Camino Real Hotel Mexico City.
Although the contest was originally designed by USMEF as a promotional tool to position U.S. red meat products in the Mexican and Caribbean markets, it has become an event of importance and prestige for Mexican and Caribbean chefs. To enter the contest, chefs submitted three of their favorite recipes, one each for U.S. beef, pork and lamb. The chefs also demonstrated that they use and feature U.S. meat products in their restaurants. To make the contest more of a challenge, chefs were asked to adapt their recipes for consumers, using readily available ingredients and cooking styles that could be easily repeated in home kitchens. Winners were selected in three categories: nutrition, versatility and originality.
The contest took place at the state-of-the-art kitchen facilities of Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy and judges from the culinary world, gourmet media, and academia in matters of nutrition made the panel of judges.
On the evening before the event, cooking order was randomly assigned, and the chefs didn’t know which of their three recipes they’d actually be preparing until they were escorted to their cooking stations and shown the tray of ingredients prepared for them. Chefs preparing beef and pork dishes were allotted two hours; those preparing lamb, three. In that time, they were expected to cook, prepare a finished plate as it would be presented to a guest, have samples ready for the judges and be ready to make a presentation to the panel of judges.
Three of the winning Mexican chefs won with a U.S. beef sirloin cut – the tri-tip – promoted by USMEF as a little-used cut domestically that can be sold more profitably in export markets. A U.S. pork loin was cooked in a variety of mouth-watering ways by five of the chefs.
The Chef Contest is not a stand-alone event. USMEF staff in both markets utilize winning chefs to help promote U.S. meat in hotels, restaurants and grocery stores. Seminars at retail stores that sell U.S. red meat feature winning chefs to help customers, often operators of small or medium-sized restaurants, better understand the quality, safety and nutritional value of U.S. meat. Chefs are also featured in a recipe book used throughout the year in consumer-directed promotions, conduct seminars on location for hotel and resort chefs and participate in U.S. meat activities throughout the year.
In September, the winners will visit trend-setting U.S. restaurants and participate in an exclusive seminar at the Culinary Institute of America as a reward for their efforts. The contest was produced by USMEF in partnership with: Certified Angus Beef, Camino Real Hotel, Nestlé Foods, Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy, Bacardi and Brandy de Jerez
In the first half of 2004, the most recent statistics available, Mexico was the No. 1 destination on a volume basis for exports of U.S. beef and beef variety meat, U.S. pork and pork variety meat and for U.S. lamb muscle cuts. U.S. beef (including variety meat) exports to Mexico totaled 56,288 metric tons (mt) valued at $165 million. The United States exported 162,170 mt of pork and pork variety meat, valued at $235 million and 1,366 mt of lamb and lamb variety meat worth $3.3 million.
From Jan.-June, 2004, the U.S. exported 4,531 mt of beef and beef variety meat to the Caribbean region, valued at $16.6 million. U.S. pork and pork variety meat exports totaled 944 mt and were valued at $1.3 million; and lamb and lamb variety meat exports stood at 210 mt valued at more than $843,000.
Annual USMEF Mexican and Caribbean Chef Contest Winners:
MEXICO
Originality
- Enrique Gutiérrez, "Osobuco (lamb) in Mexican barbecue style" Argentilia Restaurant. Leon, Guanajuato.
- Oscar Flores, "Tri-tip in pasilla pepper sauce au chocolat" Camino Real Hotel. Mexico City.
- Ramon Alvarez, "Tri-tip Roast" Café des Artistes Restaurant. Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.
Versatility
- Angelina Ramos, Pork Loin baked in mango sauce, Sheraton Hacienda. Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur (BCS).
- Gabriel Tejada, Pork Loin with banana puree and hot mango relish, Pitahayas Restaurant. Los Cabos, BCS.
- Gustavo Pérez, Pork loin in species bouquet in tamarind mole (sauce) and wild legumes, Fiesta Americana Cancun, Quintana Roo (QR).
Nutrition
- Ramon Sánchez, Pork Loin in Nogada pepper, Crown Plaza. Angelopolis, Puebla.
- Jorge Ku, Tri-tip in yogurt Xcaret Entertainment Park. Playa Del Carmen, QR.
- Victor Mendez Pork loin in pepper in barbecue framboise sauce, Beer Factory. Mexico City.
CARIBBEAN
Originality
- David Johnson (Beef), Bahamas.
- Peter Juma Mahaba (Pork), St. Lucia.
- Joel Wilkinson (Beef), Antigua & Barbuda.
Versatility
- Colin Lloyd (Beef), Bermuda.
- James Willemsen (Lamb), Turks & Caicos
- Oscar Orbe (Pork), Dominican Republic.
The U.S. Meat Export Federation is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn, sorghum and soybean checkoff programs.
Also available for use with this release:
The Contest winners gather on stage.
The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service’s Mr. Bruce Zanin attended the USMEF Chef Contest with his wife.
The winning chefs find time to relax.