Call for Amateur Bakers! Cupcake War Added to this Year's Sacramento Chef Challenge

Call for Amateur Bakers! Cupcake War Added to this Year's Sacramento Chef Challenge
Calling all Sacramento area amateur bakers! Are you ready for a sweet challenge?

This year's Cake War at the 10th Annual Sacramento Chef Challenge is Battle Cupcakes, and we're looking for three amateur contestants to duke it out against three cupcake pros!

But to join the battle, we want to see what you've got! Why are your cupcakes the best? Show and tell us by making a 3-5 minute video and uploading it to YouTube!

Want to submit a video, but don't know where to begin? Here are a few examples of videos we are looking for:



(My own audition for Food Network's Cupcake Wars)











Please note, this is an audition for the Cake War at the Sacramento Chef Challenge and NOT the Food Network Cupcake Wars program.

If you have links to other photos or a Facebook page that shows off your work, please send the links to me at cakegrrl 2007 at gmail dot com.

You must be 21 or older to compete. Video submissions will be accepted now through April 1st. At that time, we will upload our ten favorite videos to the Sacramento Chef Challenge website and ask the public to choose their favorite!

Three of the ten finalists will be selected to compete at the Sacramento Chef Challenge.  Finalists will be notified by June 1st.

Fine print:
1. You must be available on June 23rd for most of the day (to set up) and the evening (to compete). 

2. You must be able to prep and provide all your own ingredients (though you will be able to prepare your frostings on site).

3. There will be one secret ingredient you must use in your cupcakes.
4. There will be a theme for your display.
5. You will need an assistant, please make sure they will also be available on the day of the competition, and that they appear in your video.
6. You must make enough mini samples for the audience to try (about 200), so they can vote on their favorite.
7. You must be able to construct/buy & build your cupcake stand that will reflect the theme of the competition (this will be the same theme for the Chef's Challenge to be announced in the near future).


Along with your video submission, please send an email to cakegrrl 2007 at gmail dot com with the answers to these questions.
1. Name:
2. Age:
3. Phone Number:
4. Location (Where do you live in the area?):
5. Why do you want to be a contestant?
6. When did you start baking?
7. What is your level of training? (Did you go to culinary school?)
8. What sets your cupcakes apart from the rest?
9. Do you have a specialty cupcake?
10. Have you ever won any awards/contests for your baking? If so, please list them:
11. Please list 3 adjectives that best describe you.
12. Are you competitive?
13. How do you handle stressful situations?
14. Who is your partner/assistant you would bring to the competition?
15. Are you available for most of the day and evening on June 23rd, 2012?


Competition will be held during the Sacramento Chef Challenge on June 23rd from 4-9pm at the INALLIANCE Sacramento Campus, 6950 21st Ave, Sacramento, CA 95820.


For more information, please feel free to call Jessica Bean at (916) 381-1300 or email me at cakegrrl 2007 at gmail dot com.


To buy tickets to the event, please click here. All tickets include:
• the Chef Challenge
• Gourmet food sampling from local restaurants, caterers & specialty food shops
• Five free beer/wine tastes from regional breweries & wineries (additional tastes may be purchased for $1 each)
• Cake War presented by Cakegrrl.com
• Live Music


About the Sacramento Chef Challenge:
Professional chefs compete head to head in a live culinary competition and you decide who wins! Challengers have three hours to prepare and serve a specialty menu based on a surprise theme. Guests will have the opportunity to sample each item and determine “whose cuisines reigns supreme!”


As chefs battle for culinary glory, guests sample from over 100 restaurants, wineries and breweries while enjoying live music, raffle and silent auction!




About INALLIANCE
The Sacramento Chef Challenge is a benefit for INALLIANCE, a nonprofit that provides support for people with developmental disabilities.


All proceeds from our event go to enhancing the vital programs INALLIANCE provides the community. Learn more at www.inallianceinc.com

2011 Celebrity Chef Challenger: "Hail to the Chef" Evan Elsberry

The 9th Annual Celebrity Chef Challenge is coming soon!! Are you ready to find out "Who's Cuisine Reigns Supreme???" 

This week's interview is with Chef Evan Elsberry of Evan's Kitchen in East Sacramento.

Cakegrrl: What made you want to become a chef?

Chef Elsberry: I really love the creative process

CG: Where did you receive your training?

Chef Elsberry: 30 years in too many restaurants to list. CG: I will: The Family Room, Andiamo!, Limelight Cafe, Clarion Hotel, the Delta King and America Live, to name a few.

CG: What is a typical day like for you at the restaurant or your place of work?

Chef Elsberry: There are no typical days.

CG: What are/who are your primary cooking influences?

Chef Elsberry: Jaques Peppin and Jean Pierre Brehier.

CG: What are your favorite and least favorite foods to prepare?

Chef Elsberry: My favorites are anything that is sauteed. My least favorite things are anything that has to be baked.

CG: 

Please tell me about your most overwhelming moment in the kitchen.

Chef Elsberry: 

A pressure broaster exploded and a giant fire ball just missed my head!

CG: What is your "can't live without" kitchen tool and why?

Chef Elsberry: 

My apron. For some reason I have to have one on to function properly.

CG: If you had a different career choice, what would it be?

Chef Elsberry: An artist or a writer.

CG: Best meal ever?

Chef Elsberry: Wild boar.

CG: Tell me why are you going to win the Celebrity Chef Event 2011?!?!? :)

Chef Elsberry: a.) My food tastes THE BEST. and b.) I need the publicity for the generated future business.


Well, here's some publicity for Chef Evan: If you missed him on St. Patrick's Day this year on the news, here he is with making Shepard's Pie.

In addition to TV appearances, Evan has been recognized nationally. Last year, Evan's Kitchen and Catering won the 2010 Planners' Choice Award presented by Portland, Maine-based Eventective, the Web's largest database of special-event venues and service providers in the United States and Canada. Award winners were chosen on various criteria, including the number of times a caterer's Eventective listing was viewed. Evan's Kitchen was among three California establishments to crack the top 20.

The 9th Annual Celebrity Chef Challenge is at California Automobile Museum from 5:30-9:30pm. You can purchase tickets with your credit card by clicking here (FYI, there is a $2 convenience fee). To avoid that fee, you have plenty of time to pay by check by sending your money here: 

InAlliance, Attention: Celebrity Chef Challenge, 6950 21st Ave., Sacramento, CA 95820. For more information on tickets or ways to pay, click here.

The Celebrity Chef Challenge is the annual benefit for INALLIANCE, a nonprofit organization that provides support programs for people with developmental disabilities in the greater Sacramento area. 

All proceeds from the Celebrity Chef Challenge go towards enhancing the vital programs INALLIANCE provides the community. www.INALLIANCEINC.com 

2011 Celebrity Chef Challenger: Hail to the Chef, Chef Jim Turknett

The 9th Annual Celebrity Chef Challenge is coming soon!! Are you ready to find out "Who's Cuisine Reigns Supreme???" 

This week's interview is with Jim Turknett, executive chef at Vizcaya Pavilion and Mansion.

Cakegrrl: What made you want to become a chef?
Chef Turknett:  I was destined to become a chef, I started cooking at age 12 for my siblings. While in high school, I received a scholarship to go to San Francisco City College hotel and restaurant dept. I graduated in 1978 and the rest is history.

CG: Where did you receive your training?
Chef Turknett: I went (to the) San Francisco City College Culinary Program, graduated with a Chef Certificate in 1978. (I) went to work and have worked with a lot of talented people, but (I'm) mostly self taught.

CG: What is a typical day like for you at the restaurant or your place of work?

Chef Turknett: A lot of preparation for the next party.


CG: What are/who are your primary cooking influences?

Chef Turknett: I do a lot of private parties this point in my life. My influences are my clients. I like to create special menus and make them happy.

CG: What are your favorite and least favorite foods to prepare?

Chef Turknett: I like desserts, appetizers, and salads. I feel I can be more creative on these items. I don't like doing food that requires a lot of time garnishing each individual item (like canapés).

Chef Turknett (right) pictured with Chef J.P. Khoury (left)

CG: Please tell me about your most overwhelming moment in the kitchen.

Chef Turknett: Making individual soufflés for 160 people on New Years Eve. After I finished them and pulled them from the over, I sent them into the dining room. I followed the servers to watch them be served, and to my dismay the 

soufflés fell one by one.

CG: What is your "can't live without" kitchen tool and why?

Chef Turknett: My 8 inch chef's knife. I couldn't work without it.

CG: If you had a different career choice, what would it be?

Chef Turknett: I've never done anything else. I can't imagine not being in the kitchen, but maybe (I would be) a food salesperson or (do) something involving food.

CG: Best meal ever?

Chef Turknett: Le Chamenet in Lake Tahoe. It was my first experience to a great meal, and I still think about the meal 30 years later.

CG: Tell me why are you going to win the Celebrity Chef Event 2011?!?!? :)

Chef Turknett: I'm not sure I will win, but this is the 5th time for me competing, so maybe it's my time to win. I also have a lot of different types of experience.

Check out this video of Jim (when he was chef at Chanterelle) making a (savory & sweet) galette with Gwen Schoen (a former food writer at the Sacramento Bee). Happy I found this, as I have met Gwen a few times and truly miss her addition to the Food section of the paper. Enjoy!!

The 9th Annual Celebrity Chef Challenge is at California Automobile Museum from 5:30-9:30pm. You can purchase tickets with your credit card by clicking here (FYI, there is a $2 convenience fee). To avoid that fee, you have plenty of time to pay by check by sending your money here: 

InAlliance, Attention: Celebrity Chef Challenge, 6950 21st Ave., Sacramento, CA 95820. For more information on tickets or ways to pay, click here.

The Celebrity Chef Challenge is the annual benefit for INALLIANCE, a nonprofit organization that provides support programs for people with developmental disabilities in the greater Sacramento area. 

All proceeds from the Celebrity Chef Challenge go towards enhancing the vital programs INALLIANCE provides the community. www.INALLIANCEINC.com 

2011 Celebrity Chef Challenger: Hail to the Chef, Chef Mark Liberman!!

The 9th Annual Celebrity Chef Challenge is coming soon!! Are you ready to find out "Who's Cuisine Reigns Supreme???"

The battle is on at the California Automobile Museum on April 29th, and I've got another Hail to the Chef interview for you... this time I'd like you to meat, um, I mean meet Chef Mark Liberman. ;)

Surely you've read about Chef Liberman in this month's issue of Sacramento Magazine. ;) Ok, well if not then I will fill you in a little before we dive into the Q and A...

Mark was raised in Sonoma County and began apprenticing in kitchens at a very young age. He launched his career once he arrived in Las Vegas, where he opened DB Brasserie at Wynn Resort with Daniel Boulud as Chef de Partie.

He then went on to open L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand as Sous Chef. Mark was also the Chef d’Cuisine of Piero Salvaggio’s Valentino at the Venetian before he left for San Francisco. While in San Francisco, Mark held the position of Chef d’Cuisine at the renowned four-star La Folie under Chef Roland Passot. Then he left to take the helm in the kitchen at Forté.

After that, he competed in the Bocuse d’Or last year and then relocated back to Northern California. Soon, Chef Liberman's highly anticipated Black Sheep Butchery will open here in Sacramento, specializing in whole animal butchery and offering dinner one night a week. 

So let's get to know Chef Mark a little better, shall we? Oh yes we shall... ;)
 
Cakegrrl: What made you want to become a chef?
Chef Liberman: My initial draw into the restaurant/hospitality industry began when I was relatively young; growing up with both of my parents cooking at home and watching lots of PBS cooking shows is what drew me in. But when I got my first job as an apprentice at 15, I was hooked even before I ever worked on a line. Everyday is something new, everyday you start from scratch. It is an incredibly tough, long hours and constant pressure but I never even fathomed doing something else.  There is something special about doing 250 covers on a busy night, it isn’t for everyone but if you are into it, it can be a beautiful thing.

CG: Where did you receive your training?
Chef Liberman: I received my training at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, as well as performed stages/apprenticeships in Napa, New York City and Paris, France.
 
CG: What is a typical day like for you at the restaurant or your place of work?

Chef Liberman: My days are slightly different right now as I am operating a pop up restaurant meaning I will set up a temporary restaurant in various locations for limited time. Prior to the launch, I write the menu, rent any equipment or tableware I will need, hire staff and begin prepping as the date gets closer. They are generally long days, my last event was a collaboration dinner for Valentines with one of my friends, the day of the event I started at 8am and didn’t get home till 2:30am. (I will point out that we technically finished at 12:30am and went out for cocktails and food after, but still)

CG: What are/who are your primary cooking influences?

Chef Liberman: Seasonality is the primary influence in my cooking, but also looking outside of the box of what to do with them as well as other unsual seasonal ingredients, everyone is going to have english pea soup but I think to be a good chef is to not look at what others are doing. There are several chefs that have influenced my cooking styles, Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Pierre Gagnaire, Roland Passot and Luciano Pellegrini.

CG: What are your favorite and least favorite foods to prepare?

Photo by Debbie Cunningham
 Obviously NOT chicken breast!! :)

Chef Liberman: Over the years, I have always worked on meat stations and this is probably why I really do love cooking and preparing meat and poultry. But anyone that has worked with me in the kitchen knows that come spring I truly love artichokes, methodically turning them and cooking them so many different ways, confit, braising, frying, raw, etc.
 
My least favorite food to prepare has to be hands down boneless chicken breast, while I admit to having some in my freezer out of pure convenience sake, I would never offer it to my guests at my restaurant.
 

CG: Please tell me about your most overwhelming moment in the kitchen.

Chef Liberman: My most overwhelming day up to this point has to be Valentines day 2004. I was the chef of a small team of really bad ass cooks and I was a bit cocky, decided to run full a la carte as well as several difficult specials. We were completely overbooked and the by 2nd seating, there were so many tickets coming out of the machine that they were draping on the floor. We couldn’t keep up or get out of the weeds, the borage of curse words that came out of my mouth to this day is still brought up by the cooks that were by my side that night. I have learned a lot since then, but I am still cocky.
 

Marbled Foie Gras! Read more about it here.

CG: What is your "can't live without" kitchen tool and why?

Chef Liberman: Sauce Spoons, because you can use it for everything and it’s essential for basting fish and meats as they cook as well as plating.  I have “collected” saucing spoons from almost every restaurant I have worked in; actually I guess I stole them.

Photo by Debbie Cunningham

CG: If you had a different career choice, what would it be?

Chef Liberman: I absolutely love film so I could see myself being involved in some facet in the movie industry, hopefully assisting in putting out better movies than most studios put out these days.
 
CG: Best meal ever?

Chef Liberman: Initially what stands out is my 1st meal I had at the French Laundry back in the day, but most recently was my meal I had with my brother at Alinea. My brother, who is a sommelier, brought  two amazing wines and in all honesty, we had a 5 ½-6 hour meal, 31 courses and it was f-ing brilliant. We were the last ones in the restaurant and we had a chance to talk with Grant and the sommeliers.

CG: Tell me why are you going to win the Celebrity Chef Event 2011?!?!? :)

Chef Liberman: I am going to win because I can cook anything that they put in front of me. My style of cooking is always walking on the edge and anyone that has cooked with me, knows that I love spontaneity. I am very fast with precise technique at the same time, not to mention I have an encyclopedia of flavors in my brain at all times. I am comfortable doing 300 covers a night of simple food or 70 covers of highly intricate dishes. But in all honesty, I am just really happy and honored to be a part of this event and I am looking forward to it.

OK, so I might be
rooting for team Liberman...

For more information on today's featured chef, click here.


The 9th Annual Celebrity Chef Challenge is at California Automobile Museum from 5:30-9:30pm. You can purchase tickets with your credit card by clicking here (FYI, there is a $2 convenience fee). To avoid that fee, you have plenty of time to pay by check by sending your money here: 

InAlliance, Attention: Celebrity Chef Challenge, 6950 21st Ave., Sacramento, CA 95820. For more information on tickets or ways to pay, click here.

The Celebrity Chef Challenge is the annual benefit for INALLIANCE, a nonprofit organization that provides support programs for people with developmental disabilities in the greater Sacramento area. 

All proceeds from the Celebrity Chef Challenge go towards enhancing the vital programs INALLIANCE provides the community. www.INALLIANCEINC.com 

If you simply can't wait to see Chef Mark battle it out, you can watch him make Chestnut Tortellini Fontina Fondue right here:

Chestnut Tortellini Fontina Fondue By Chef Mark Liberman - Click here for more home videos

2011 Celebrity Chef Challenger: Hail to the Chef, Richard K. Pannell

The 9th Annual Celebrity Chef Challenge is a little over 2 months away, but that is just enough time to introduce our competitors one by one, and for you to pick a favorite to cheer on the night of April 29th at the California Automobile Museum.  I am so excited to be involved again!!

The first chef spotlight is Chef Richard K. Pannell, of Table 260 Downtown Sacramento, Pannell Quizine Catering and founder of Cuisine Noir Magazine, an online publication devoted to promoting African Americans in the culinary field.

Cakegrrl: What made you want to become a chef?
Chef Pannell: I am not sure. I started cooking when I was 12 years of age in my mother’s kitchen. I then accepted a job from my brother at the restaurant he was working as a cook. He hired me as the dishwasher and started training me as a prep cook. I was so excited that I learned how to make garlic bread and homemade French fries. I was hooked at 16. From what I can tell, my first inclination of becoming a Chef was in 1980 when I talked my teacher at a local computer extension program to allow me to cater our graduation…

CG: Where did you receive your training?
Chef Pannell: I did about one month at a local culinary school by the name of Leiderwolf. I was bored so I quit, they went out of business and I just started going to the popular school of "Hard Knocks"…

CG: What is a typical day like for you at the restaurant or your place of work?

Chef Pannell: Begins at 10am…any last minute prepping. Thinking of the days special. Inventory.  Ordering. Quick lunch rush (if there is one). Returning phone calls. Cleaning. More cooking. Seeing if I got any food on my chef jacket. Why, you might ask. If my jacket or apron is too clean that means it’s a slow day. If my jacket or apron is lightly dirty that means it’s an ok day. If it is completely stained…then I have been careless and busy. If it has a spot here and a wipe there, then it means that I have been cautious and in control…that the way it is most of the time…

CG: What are/who are your primary cooking influences?

Chef Pannell: What-guest smiles and compliments.

Who-any chef or foodie who is creative and not afraid of taking food to the next level. Patrick Clark, Chef Joe Randall, Emeril Lagasse, Tyler Florence, Alton Brown, Paula Dean and many more…

CG: What are your favorite and least favorite foods to prepare?

Chef Pannell: Blackeyed Peas, Okra, Tomato Stew, anything that doesn’t look like ‘sex’ on a plate…LOL

Chipotle Lamp
Corn and Garlic Potatoes

CG: Please tell me about your most overwhelming moment in the kitchen.

Chef Pannell: When I get a rush and can’t get the food out quick enough…”We are fast, but we are not fast food!” When you have a sous chef and he/she walks out and you are stuck!
 

CG: What is your "can't live without" kitchen tool and why?

Chef Pannell: Chef knife…it does it all…even use it as a spoon…believe it or not…LOL
CG: I agree with this!

CG: If you had a different career choice, what would it be?

Chef Pannell: A producer for events…love to be behind the scene putting things, people and places together and making it work. Entertainment Producer

CG: Best meal ever?

Chef Pannell: Cheesy Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread and Caesar salad, sparkling apple cider.

CG: Tell me why are you going to win the Celebrity Chef Event 2011?!?!? :)

Chef Pannell: Because of me, my creativity, eclecticness, flavor combinations and foodatude (my passion for food)!


For more information on today's featured chef, click here.


The 9th Annual Celebrity Chef Challenge is at California Automobile Museum from 5:30-9:30pm. You can purchase tickets with your credit card by clicking here (FYI, there is a $2 convenience fee). To avoid that fee, you have plenty of time to pay by check by sending your money here:

InAlliance, Attention: Celebrity Chef Challenge, 6950 21st Ave., Sacramento, CA 95820.

For more information on tickets or ways to pay, click here.

The Celebrity Chef Challenge is the annual benefit for INALLIANCE, a nonprofit organization that provides support programs for people with developmental disabilities in the greater Sacramento area.

All proceeds from the Celebrity Chef Challenge go towards enhancing the vital programs INALLIANCE provides the community. www.INALLIANCEINC.com