What do the following have in common? | “Tasty Pork Grated With Pumpkin Fl...

What do the following have in common?

“Tasty Pork Grated With Pumpkin Flowers In Tamarind Sauce.” “Marinated Coulotte Au Burgundy And Barigoule Artichokes.” And, “Columbo Braised Shank.”

Besides being made with U.S. meat, all are winning recipes in the Fourth Annual Mexican and Caribbean Chef’s Contests held recently in Mexico City and sponsored by the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

To enter the contest, chefs were required to submit 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.

More than 200 chefs entered this year’s contest, and 24 were chosen to attend the cook-off in Mexico City. 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 had two hours to finish; those preparing lamb had three hours. In that time, they were expected to have completed cooking, have prepared 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 judging panel. 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.

Chefs frequently cited consistent quality and flavor, along with uncompromising safety, as the primary reasons they regularly feature U.S. meats on their tables. Francisco Llil, a chef with J.W. Marriott in Mexico City and a winner in the nutrition category, summarized it this way: “We’re successful when our guests are so happy with our food that they come back and bring their friends with them. So I want the best flavor, the highest quality and the safest product I can find. This is what I get with U.S. meat.”

Debra Sardinha-Metivier, executive chef for the Hilton Hotel in Trinidad and a winner in the originality category, “Chef’s don’t like second-guess ingredients and there’s no second-guessing with U.S. meat. I know it’s going to be a safe product, something people are very comfortable with. You get good value for your money, not only from a chef’s perspective, but from a diners perspective.”

The Chef Contest is not a stand-alone event. USMEF staff in both markets utilize winning chefs to help promote U.S. meats through both hotel-restaurant-institution (HRI) and retail trade sectors. For example, a series of seminars in Costco stores – that sell only U.S. meat products – features winning chefs to help customers better understand the quality, safety and nutrition of U.S. meats. Many seminar attendees are consumers, but the real targets of the events are owners of small- to medium-sized restaurants who rely on Costco stores as distribution centers. Many of these customers come to the store for other products, and these seminars introduce them to competitively priced U.S. meat products that deliver on the promise of consistent quality and uncompromising safety.

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 2002, Mexico became the No. 1 destination on a volume basis for exports of U.S. beef and beef variety meat overtaking Japan. U.S. beef exports to Mexico broke the record for the sixth successive year. The United States exported 349,900 metric tons (mt) of beef and beef variety meat to Mexico, 12 percent more than in 2001, at a value of $854 million, 10 percent higher than the previous year. Mexico was the second biggest market for U.S. pork exports, at 217,909 mt of pork and pork variety meat, a 7 percent increase, valued at more than $252 million. In addition, Mexico also was the largest market for U.S. lamb (including variety meat) exports at 4,184 mt, valued at $4.8 million.

In 2002, the Caribbean was our tenth largest beef and pork export market. Beef (including variety meat) exports totaled 10,169 mt, valued at more than $31 million; U.S. pork and pork variety meat exports topped 6,800 mt and were valued at more than $11 million; and lamb and lamb variety meat exports stood at 384 mt valued at $1.6 million.

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.

–         USMEF –

Also available for use with this release:

–         Photo 1: Chef Manuel Martinez, Presidente Inter-Continental Hotel, Ixtapa, puts final touches to his winning recipe “Tasty Pork Grated With Pumpkin Flowers In Tamarind Sauce.”

–        Photo 2: Chef Francisco Sánchez, La Chimenea Restaurant, Mexico City, finds out from USMEF consulting chef Humberto Macedo which of the three recipes he submitted to the contest he will have to cook. Sánchez’ recipe was picked a winner for versatility

–         Photo 3: Chef Alejandro Kuri, a former Mexican Chef’s Contest Winner, conducts a seminar at a Mexico City Costco store to help owners of small to medium-sized restaurants learn to use U.S. meat in their establishments.

Complete winner’s list:

Mexican winners (listed as category, chef’s name, recipe, restaurant, city):

Nutrition: Osvaldo Paredes, Pork Leg Encrusted With Pumpkin Seeds, Marriott Hotel, Aeropuerto, México City; Francisco Llil, Coulotte Braised, JW Marriott Hotel, Mexico City; and Pablo Pichardo, Pork Loin With Ratatouille Au Mexicaine, Fiesta Americana Hotel, Mexico City.

Versatility: Francisco Sánchez, Pork Loin Marinated In Green Sauce And Mexican Herbs, La Chimenea Restaurant, Presidente Inter-Continental Hotel, Mexico City; Manuel Martínez, Tasty Pork Grated With Pumpkin Flowers In Tamarind Sauce, Presidente Inter-Continental Hotel, Ixtapa; and Hugo Avendaño, Roasted Coulotte In Pineapple Sauce Au Ginger, Camino Real Hotel, Mexico City.

Originality: Rodrigo Piña, Marinated Coulotte Au Burgundy And Barigoule Artichokes, Café des Artistes Restaurant, Puerto Vallarta; Alexis Bostelmann, Shank Au Tangine With Spices, Mayan Palace Hotel, Playa del Carmen; and Yvan Didelot, Coulotte Chunks Au Provençal, Au Pied de Cochon Restaurant, Presidente Inter-Continental Hotel, Mexico City.

Caribbean winners (listed as category, chef’s name, recipe, restaurant, island):

Nutrition: Matt Boland, Crown Roast Of Pork With Mango And Apricot Stuffing, Radisson Hotel, Aruba.

Originality: Sebastien Altazin, Curry Flavored Coulotte With Coconut Milk And Lime, Malliouhana Hotel, Anguilla, British West Indies; and Debra Sardinha-Metivier, “Trini” Blackened Coulotte, Hilton Hotel, Trinidad.

Versatility: Marcus Repp, “Colombo” Braised Shank, Westin Casuarina Hotel, Grand Cayman; and Neil Mather, Coconut Barbecued Pork Chops, British Colonial Hilton Hotel, Bahamas.