Hyatt Regency Good Taste Series Culinary Competition

I would suspect that when you choose a hotel to stay at when you are traveling, the restaurant and food service within the property are not top of mind. Well, they should be! Yes, location and amenities matter but so does the food that is served while you are a guest on the property. Most hotels take great pride in this aspect of their business which is why the Hyatt works so hard to exceed our expectations when it comes to their chefs’ experience.

This week, I had the distinct pleasure of being asked to be a Judge for the Hyatt’s The Good Taste Series 2016 Culinary Competition. The purpose of this cook-off is to celebrate the Hyatt’s culinary team. In this challenge, chefs from across the country compete within their region. There are 12 different brackets in all. The top chef wins a trip to the finals in Mexico this Fall.

Held at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, 9 of the best Hyatt Regency Chefs were charged with creating dishes with the following guidelines:

• 1 Sustainable Seafood Dish
• 1 dish that is consistent with Hyatt’s food philosophy, Food: Thoughtfully Sourced, Carefully Served

Prizes were offered to the top 3 winning Chefs:

• First Place – Trophy, $500 gift card, AND an all expenses paid trip to the Finals in Mexico
• Shun knife
• One year subscription to a food magazine or cookbook of choice

As you will see in each photo and after reading the ingredients in each dish, the details made all the difference.

Chef Armando Diaz, Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa

Sustainable Seafood Dish:

Seafood Terrine with locally sourced garnishes

 

Thoughtfully Sourced, Carefully Served Dish:

Texas antelope loin with black garlic, olive oil, local tomatoes, Anson Mills faro, fresh herbs

 

Brandon Drummond, Grand Hyatt Washington, D.C.

Sustainable Seafood Dish

Bahn Mi Cure King Salmon with pickled daikon and carrot, shaved jalapeno, soy pearl, spicy sauce and coconut pineapple cracker

 

Thoughtfully Sourced, Carefully Served Dish

Maryland grass fed Gouchujang BBQ bison tenderloin, Bull’s blood and gold beet leather with first pick summer vegetable salad

 

Gil Amador-Licea, Hyatt Regency Milwaukee

Sustainable Seafood Dish

Shrimp chilpachole – traditional Mexican dish with spiced tomato sauce, shrimp and corn masa dumpling topped with lime crème fraiche and salmon roe

 

Thoughtfully Sourced, Carefully Served Dish

Grilled quail served over a pistachio almond milk and goat cheese risotto topped with a Door County cherry rose water compote accompanied with a roasted baby zucchini, heirloom baby carrots and a patty pan squash

 

Jose Fontanez, Hyatt Regency McCormick Place

Sustainable Seafood Dish

Citrus and dill seared salmon served with watercress and roasted parsnip puree, green peas, crispy dill, shrimp mousseline stuffed morel mushroom with citrus burr blanc

 

Thoughtfully Sourced, Carefully Served Dish

Pan seared cap steak served with chive and horseradish pomm puree, sweet potato croquet, roasted heirloom baby carrots, and sweet creamed corn with bordelaise sauce

 

Matthew Hunt, Hyatt Regency Chicago

Sustainable Seafood Dish

Shrimp, spinach and ricotta ravioli with a sweet corn sauce, black truffle, corridor blossom and popcorn shoots

 

Thoughtfully Sourced, Carefully Served Dish

Chicken adobo satay with Asian inspired potato salad, wild mushrooms and exotic kale

 

Patrick Clark, Hyatt Regency O’Hare

Sustainable Seafood Dish

Hot smoked salmon with orange corn grits and grilled peaches

 

Thoughtfully Sourced, Carefully Served Dish

Spiced salmon tostada

 

Robert De La Ree, Hyatt Regency Cleveland

Sustainable Seafood Dish

Shrimp two ways, purple and gold cauliflower crudo with a shrimp salad, topped with a frisee nest, olive poached shrimp perched on top and drizzled with herb oil and garnished with a roasted bread stick.

 

Thoughtfully Sourced, Carefully Served Dish

Chicken two ways, roulade of chicken stuffed with chicken mousse, goat cheese, roasted red pepper, grilled corn on top of red quinoa cake with sautéed pea shoots and garnished with a red and gold beet sauce

 

Steven Sims, Hyatt Regency Cincinnati

Sustainable Seafood Dish

Verlasso salmon, Berkshire Goetta sausage, charred eggplant, pickled corn, Kentucky soy, spiced peach and baby squash

 

Thoughtfully Sourced, Carefully Served Dish

Farm raised shrimp, heirloom tomato, horseradish, marinated cucumber, avocado, Bourbon Barrel Worcestershire, and cilantro

 

 

Tracey Sortman, Hyatt Regency Columbus

Sustainable Seafood Dish

Candied beet root and goat cheese cheesecake atop a crunchy pumpernickel crust topped with spicy salmon ceviche with coconut lavender cream and a toasted jalapeno dill macaroon.

 

Thoughtfully Sourced, Carefully Served Dish

Rosemary and shallot infused pork tenderloin stop a bed of cream quinoa and goat cheese risotto, glazed green top baby carrots and a tart cherry balsamic reduction

The Chefs created a wide variety of recipes based on the required criteria. They shared their thoughts on how they arrived at the recipe and a bit of their personal history. Presentation played a key role in determining the winner as well. While the decision was difficult for all 5 of us who were judging this competition, we knew we had to vote for the Chefs that we believed accomplished the goal set out for them.

And the winners are:

First place: Patrick Clark

Second place: Brandon Drummond

Third place: Jose Fontanez

It was such a pleasure to recognize each of these talented Hyatt Chefs. Their pride in each of their dishes was evident. Learning about their background and reasons for being a part of the Hyatt culinary team was a reflection of their passion for their work.

 

Thank you to the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place for giving me the opportunity to participate in The Good Taste Series Midwest Regional Competition. I look forward to the fourth annual event in 2017!