Chefs of Grey Poupon to judge student competition

Kraft Foodservice named three chefs as the 2009 Chefs of Grey Poupon for their use of Grey Poupon mustard as part of their signature recipes. The winners, Tim Curci, co-founder of Bonefish Grill; Christopher Cristiano, executive chef of Fox Restaurant Concepts; and Lenny Scranton, CEC, vice president culinary at Morrison Healthcare Food Services, will be recognized at a reception May 6 at The Chopping Block at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago.

To recognize the 2009 Chefs of Grey Poupon for their culinary achievements and inspire the chefs of tomorrow, a live culinary competition will take place at the reception, featuring students from renowned culinary schools Kendall College, Chicago; Johnson & Wales, Miami; the Culinary Institute of America, New York City; and, new to the competition this year, The French Culinary Institute (updated 4/2/09) Institute of Culinary Education, New York City. The Chefs of Grey Poupon will judge a student culinary competition and award a first-place $20,000 Grey Poupon culinary school scholarship, second-place $5,000 scholarship, third-place $3,000 scholarship and fourth-place $2,000 scholarship. Additionally at the reception, each chef will showcase three signature recipes incorporating Grey Poupon mustard. For more information on the Chefs of Grey Poupon and to see all of their recipes, visit www.chefsofgreypoupon.com.

Three master chefs to host workshop at The French Pastry School

The French Pastry School of Chicago will play host to three master chefs for an intensive, two-day workshop on June 26 and 27 examining specialty aspects of pastry making called "Spanish Celebrity 'Fiesta.'" Students will watch multiple demonstrations by the chefs and taste their creations.

The two chefs who will teach the workshop are: chef Paco Torreblanca and chef Oriol Balaguer. Torreblanca (photo below), chef/owner of Pastelería Totel, an exporter of baked goods and desserts in Alicante, Galicia, Spain, will demonstrate entremets, tartes and petits gateaux, which illustrate techniques he presents in his new book, Paco Torreblanca Vol. 2.


Balaguer (photo below) , chef/owner of the pastry and confectionary studio Chocolate Studio in Barcelona, will focus on chocolate candies, petits fours, pound cake, confectionary, plated desserts and ice cream. Balaguer opened Chocolate Studio in 2002 after working as the pastry chef at El Bulli in Roses, Spain.


Celebrity chef and restaurateur Rick Bayless (photo below), of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago, will prepare lunch each day for workshop attendees.


For more information, visit www.frenchpastryschool.com.