Welcome To ChefJesseJones.com - Where You Can Meet and Learn about ChefJesseJonesCuisine.
This is my tribute to one of the best Chefs Ever.
Click
Here to Meet Chef Jesse
Success comes in the sauce for Ultimate chef Jesse Jones of Irvington
By Kimberly L. Jackson/The Star-Ledger
March 24, 2010, 11:47AM
Jesse James of Irvington received the title
of Ultimate Chef Bergen County.With
an audience of more than 100 spectators, chef Jesse Jones of Irvington
clenched the title of Ultimate Chef Bergen County, showcasing rice in
four courses.
“I had a great time,” said Jones, elated after Monday night’s victory. His win unseated the previous Ultimate Chef Christine Nunn, owner of Picnic Caterers. Nunn is in the process of opening Picnic, The Restaurant in Fair Lawn.
Both chefs were required to make dishes with rice for the final round of the competition at the Chef Central cooking supply store in Paramus.
Jones, who has catering clients in Bergen County, won the title serving Carolina rice with a pulled pork strudel and a fresh apricot and rice wine vinegar reduction, and by blending rice into his crawfish soufflé served with blackened grouper and a light creole sauce of roasted tomatoes, roasted peppers and white wine. He added puréed rice to the soubise sauce for his roasted guinea hen, and spiked rice pudding with rum to make the ice cream he offered with a praline blackberry cake.
Judges for the final round were Susan Leigh Sherrill, food and entertainment editor at (201) Magazine; chef Rick Kimble, and food writer Rosie Saferstein, author of the blog “Table Hopping with Rosie” at newjerseymonthly.com. Master chef Thomas Griffiths, director of Campbell’s Culinary Institute, had been a judge in earlier competitions.
“I thought it was a great competition,” said Kimble, a restaurant consultant who has worked as head saucier at the Waldorf Astoria in New York and an executive chef for HBO.
Kimble said the judges were impressed with Jones’ creative blending of flavors. Flavor weighed heavily in this match, accounting for half of each competitor’s score. The balance was based on food quality, presentation and innovation.
“On innovation, he really scored very highly,” Kimble said. “He has some pretty unique sauces that accompany his dishes. His food was presented well, and it tasted great.”
Sherrill agreed: “Jesse emerged as the winner primarily because of the distinct flavors in his cooking and his creativity.”
Both Kimble and Sherrill had judged previous competitions, and Sherrill said the judging was tougher with each round as the chefs ramped up their menus to incorporate more complex ingredients and techniques. Sherill said Nunn’s stand-out dish was “a beautifully plated trio of strawberry rice-milk ice cream with pulverized jasmine rice, a Cocoa Krispie brownie and Rice Krispie treats with candied ginger and a chocolate-cardamom glaze.”
Adding interest were the competitors’ vastly different cooking styles, both Sherrill and Kimble said. Kimble described Jones’ style as “Southern cooking, but he has a nice little twist on it,” compared with Nunn’s “more traditional classic French.”
In previous matches, Jones won against John Marsh of Green Door Cafe, Tenafly; Adam Weiss of Esty Street, Park Ridge, and Ike Koutrakos of Cooking In Your Kitchen.
Chef Jim Edwards, who manages culinary programs at Chef Central, said the 3-year-old competition has allowed the store to make use of its recently updated teaching kitchen now equipped with video cameras, two ovens, three ranges and four refrigerators.
“This event started out as just a little contest,” Edwards said. “I think it’s now one of the most respected food competitions in this area. All the elements are there: We have great competitors, great judges and a great audience.”
Story Source http://www.nj.com/entertainment/dining/index.ssf/2010/03/success_comes_in_the_sauce_for.html
Contact Chef Jesse for Your Needs Today at chefjessejones @ chefjessejonescuisine.com
Face Book Contact Chef Jesee on FaceBook
Chef Jesse Wins Kitchen Competition
Chef Jesse Jones of South Orange’s Heart and Soul Catering has advanced to the final round of the “Ultimate Chef Bergen County” competition. Jones, popularly known as Chef Jesse, beat .... read more
http://southorange.patch.com/announcements/chef-jesse-wins-kitchen-competition
Can't get enoughChefJesse? |
Contact Chef
Jesse for at Make Friends with Chef Jesse on FaceBook |
