The Hope for Families Center thrilled gourmands once again at the 2016 Vero’s Top Chef Challenge Finale, held at The Club at Pointe West last Monday evening and sponsored by Gordon Food Service. Four of the county’s best chefs competed, having each won spots in the Top Chef Qualifier the month before, and in the end chef David Schneider emerged victorious.
Schneider and his Indian River State College Culinary School crew may not have a local restaurant open to the public, but it’s a sure bet the program’s future chefs will soon be part of the culinary circuit under his superb guidance. The delicious fare they brought to the competition – scrumptious pan-seared beef tenderloin paired with a seafood strudel of lobster, shrimp and scallop – won over the palates of the professional judges as well as the guests, who also chose it for the People’s Choice Award.
“This has been a blast,” Schneider said happily. “It really is such a great cause and charity. It has been a pleasure to work with these great chefs and Chef Faria. It is such an honor for the college.”
Each dish had been presented blindly and guests played a culinary game of Clue as the courses were presented and they tried to discern which chef had prepared them.
“You don’t know who the chef is for each course but I do try to guess and write down who I think did each one,” said guest Liz Mayo. “We are so lucky to have IRSC in our backyard; not only to partner with HFC on advancing our resident’s education but to have a culinary program that produces an award-winning dish like this. Not only did the plate look beautiful but each component was cooked perfectly.”
Professional judges – Dr. Harold Cordner, former president of Space Coast La Chaîne, chef Adam Walker, Gordon Food Service Center of Plate Specialist, and chef/owner Michael Lander of Garage Woodfired Pizza – brought their vast experience to the task of choosing the best of the best.
“We judge on five things – taste, presentation, portion size, plating and creativity,” said Cordner, who with Lander are members of the world’s oldest gastronomical society, La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs.
The other competitors were chefs Joey Fenyak and Kim Coveny of Joey’s Seafood Shack, who prepared Maine lobster and eggplant parmesan; chef Tyler Colby from Bent Pine Golf Club with his Kurabuto pork and tangerine shrimp; and chef Patrick Hughes of Riverside Café who presented a unique phyllo-wrapped ox tail with oxen demi-glace.
The event finished on a sweet note with a four-part sample plate offered by 2016 Top Chef Dessert Champion, Lisa Damiano of Counter Culture, featuring pear and goat cheese fritters, sticky toffee date and chocolate pudding, key lime raspberry mousse tart and chocolate peanut butter ice-cream bar. Event chair Deb Murphy said they were grateful to each of the chefs who generously donated their talents as well as a gift for the silent auction; Gordon Food Service, which underwrote all of the food; and Lander, who assisted with the wine pairings for each course.
The organization also used the occasion to roll out an important new “21 Room Club” fundraising initiative to support HFC families.
“It is a pledged sponsorship of the Hope for Families Center to commit to $25,000 per year for three years,” said development director Kimberly Stewart.
“Essentially it helps support one family per room and it assures that the electricity is paid and over 200 families have food. Grants and events only cover about a quarter of the expenses required to keep providing the services and programs we provide. To support these people and help make them self-sufficient we need to have the funds to keep us self-supporting as well.”
