The (not-so-) secret ingredient is Mushrooms (from Killbuck Valley in Burbank, OH). There's going to be eight teams competing, each serving three courses -- appetizer, salad and entree.
With that in mind, here's some of the ideas we've been kicking around -- all of recipes will be available after the show.
Appetizer
For the appetizer section, we're going with a Trompe l'Oeil theme: Mushroom Cupcake, Lollipop and Parfait. The cupcake is savory, the frosting is a smoked mushroom and red wine pate that has agar agar added, then refrigerated until it sets, and then pureed again and piped onto the cupcake. The lollipop is a smoked portobello with a miso/cola bbq sauce. The soup is smoked cremini mushroom soup alternating with a potato and celery root soup.
A close-up of the mushroom cupcake
Salad
The thought here was small, medium and large / raw, raw & cooked, cooked
A close-up of the raw portobello roll
A close-up of the rice paper mushroom roll
A close-up of the cremini and cannellini bean salad in boston bibb lettuce cup
Entree
For the last plate we're going with Mushroom, Lentil and Gardein* filled Crepes with a smoked mushroom sauce, Mushroom Gratin with Teese, and a third mushroom part TBA.
* the Gardein is being supplied by Chef Scot Jones from The Vegiterranean restaurant in Akron.
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