We have in our midst the first national Supermarket Grand Chef, a title Foodland chef Keoni Chang won Thursday in Dallas at the first Supermarket Chef Showdown, staged by the Food Marketing Institute.
His Deconstructed Ahi California Roll won him an expenses-paid trip to the Culinary Institute of America for a professional development course, valued at $5,000.
"It’s surreal right now. It hasn’t really sunk in," Chang said Thursday as he awaited his flight home.
The trip "was awesome," he said. "I had a great time and met great people," traded stories and talked shop with the other chefs. He had joked before leaving about "eyeballing" the other contestants, "and while ther was definitely a competitive spirit going on … we were really supportive of each other," Chang said.
If he had to guess what put his dish over the top, "I think it started with the presentation," he said. "When I was doing plate-ups," other contestants said it "looks so great," he said. "The judges would take pictures," including cooking show star and cookbook author Sandra Lee, who sent the image to her followers on social media site Twitter. "The dish looked restaurant-quality, but anyone can do it and do it quickly," Chang said.
After that, taste came into play. "The Asian palate, we’re all used to it, but I think it’s not an everyday thing for people on the mainland. The flavors (and textures) are perceived as exotic."
He might not sear the ahi for a local audience, but he did for the competition because he thought some mainland people might not want to "dive in head-first" to all-raw fish, he said.
His Deconstructed Ahi California Roll proved a category killer in the championship as it beat dishes that had won other categories: Indian Five Spice Lamb in the Ethnic category by Brian Dunn of Roche Bros. Supermarkets in Wellesley Hills, Mass.; Italian Pie in the Family Meals category by Amber Pruett of Publix Super Markets Inc. in Lakeland, Fla.; and Spiced Orange Yogurt Parfaits in the Healthy Alternatives category, by Rachael Perron of Kowalski’s Markets in Woodbury, Minn.
On Wednesday, Chang’s recipe won him the Indulgent category prize: a commemorative plate and $1,000 cash.
That day, the dish beat lobster mac and cheese by Mike Grimes of Publix Super Markets in Lakeland, Fla.; red snapper with "popcorn" persillade and rock shrimp, white corn succotash and braised leeks by Jason Miller of Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market in Germantown, Md.; spiced chocolate phyllo shells with sweet mascarpone by James Alexander of Hy-Vee supermarket in Omaha, Neb.; and a beef short-rib quesadilla with creamy coconut barbecue sauce, by Chris Delise of Kings Supermarkets in Short Hills, N.J.
"After 357 submitted recipes, 20 chef finalists, four category champions and one grand chef, we are thrilled that FMI could provide our industry’s culinary stars a stage on which to shine," Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of FMI, said in a statement.
It is likely the FMI website will post the contestants’ recipes, Chang said. Meanwhile, he will appear on local TV to demonstrate his dish, and in June will post a recipe video for the Foodland website as well, said Sheryl Toda, director of corporate communications.
During the competition, which was streamed live online, his BlackBerry was nearby and was abuzz with "messages and emails popping up, so I felt very connected. … In some ways I felt like I was with everyone at the same time."
