Chefs Invited to Enter Taste of Elegance

Chefs throughout Wisconsin are invited to enter the 2016 Wisconsin’s Taste of Elegance contest. This exciting contest offers chefs an opportunity to showcase their culinary skills, while taking a chance at $2000 in cash prizes and a complimentary trip to the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone Campus in St. Helena, Calif.

Entries are now being accepted for this contest, which is sponsored by the Wisconsin Pork Association. The Taste of Elegance features Wisconsin’s leading chefs, who utilize pork to create innovative and exciting new entrées for their menus.

The Taste of Elegance is open to all employed chefs from a Wisconsin foodservice establishment. Entry deadline is December 10, 2015.  Chefs can contact Wisconsin Pork Association at (608) 723-7551 for an entry form and list of rules, or can download the materials from the WPA web site at www.wppa.org. Chefs will be asked to submit their recipe for their pork entrée, a copy of their restaurant’s menu, and a résumé.

Following selection of the top recipes, up to eight chefs will be invited to prepare their entrées for a panel of judges. Entrées are judged based on originality, appearance and taste.

The Taste of Elegance competition will be held on February 4, 2016 at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center, Wisconsin Dells. The blind judging will begin at 3:45 p.m., with a reception and awards following from 6:15 – 7:30 p.m.

The Chef Par Excellence of the 2016 Wisconsin Taste of Elegance will receive $750. Superior Chef will receive $500, and the Premium Chef will receive $250.  A People’s Choice and Best Use of Soy awards of $250 each will also be offered.  In addition, the Chef Par Excellence will receive a complimentary trip, an exclusive educational weekend hosted by the National Pork Board and held at The Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone Campus in St. Helena, Calif.

This program not only provides an elegant occasion to highlight the increasing popularity of pork on America’s menus, but also helps to strengthen chefs’ preference for pork as a flavorful and versatile meat. Since its inception, the national program has evolved into over twenty regional competitions, with more than 500 chefs participating.

Source: Wisconsin Pork Association