It's not exactly a civil war, but it will be the North versus the South when the first Chef's Challenge competition kicks off next month.
Four culinary teams south of the U.S. 10 dividing line will go head to head with four teams north of that line to compete for "bragging rights and notoriety," say organizers of the cook-off.
Chefs and restaurants from across Michigan were invited to compete, said organizer Joe Breidenstein. The top north and south team will face off in an "Iron Chef"-style competition on Sunday evening of the Chef's Challenge weekend, April 25-27 at Shanty Creek Resort near Bellaire.
The event is designed to extol the food, wine and microbrew industries in the state and as a fundraiser, said Breidenstein. Proceeds will benefit Challenge Mountain in Walloon Lake, a nonprofit organization that provides adaptive recreation exclusively to people with special needs.
"I live across the valley from Challenge Mountain and I've watched it grow and watched its ups and downs and so forth and I've always had a lot of admiration for them and what they do," said Breidenstein. "I had often thought about how to come up with a signature event to get them out of the woods financially.
After a brainstorming session with a friend, he came up with a cooking competition that would not only include participants from across the state but promote spring tourism as well.
"Spring is an untapped jewel," said Breidenstein, who is known for his Morels and More weekend mushroom hunting packages. "I've always been a proponent of the springtime morel."
The participants will be preparing an entrée item and must use Michigan products as their primary food ingredient, explained Breidenstein. The food will be paired with Michigan wines and microbrews.
Michigan chefs and restaurants submitted recipes for consideration and it was narrowed down to eight. Chef Kyle Marshall and his team, which represents the Red Mesa Grill in Traverse City and Boyne City and Pearl's in Elk Rapids, were among those chosen to compete for the north.
Marshall said he entered the competition because it was a fundraiser for Challenge Mountain and he thought it sounded like a lot of fun as well.
"It's a great chance to get us outside of the restaurant and do something for the community," he said.
He submitted three recipes and doesn't know which one they'll be preparing for the competition, but all three focused on spring harvests and Michigan products.
"We submitted a couple of Latin-style recipes and a Cajun Creole and since I'm very into the local market and using as much as I can, I was familiar with what was out there," he added.
Marshall said he's been featuring some traditional restaurants at Red Mesa lately that use different mole sauces. He provided a few recipes, and cautioned readers not to be intimidated.
"I know the recipe list looks long, but once all the ingredients are attained, it is a very simple dish to prepare and well worth the time invested," he said.
The cook-off winners will be decided by designated judges and the public, who will buy tickets for samples and vote for their favorite. Judges will include Chef Eric Villegas of TV's, "Fork in the Road," and Chef Michelle Bommarito, who has frequently appeared on the Food Network, explained Breidenstein.
"When I heard that it was a charity event and promoting Michigan products I was in," said Bommarito, a Detroit-based chef.
As a judge, she'll be looking at a variety of criteria including technique, the cooking process, how well the ingredients work together, presentation and, of course, taste.
"I prefer food that is kept simple and clean and not masked behind something like a heavy cream sauce," Bommarito explained. She also prefers that the recipes use seasonal ingredients.
A $25 donation entitles an individual to eight chits, each good for one food sampling or one wine tasting or one beer tasting. The public may use them as they choose to taste any combination of food, wine and beer.
On April 27, the winners will compete in the "Iron Chef"-style cook-off during an auditorium seating dinner. Tickets are $100 per person and include a four-course meal served by Shanty Creek as well as a variety of Michigan wine and beers.
Bommarito will be emceeing the "Iron Chef" contest and said she is really looking forward to it.
"I'm so excited about it," she said. "I compete in the cake challenges on the Food Network so it will be fun being on the other side this time."
Throughout the weekend culinary students from various schools will be also available to help wherever they're needed, said Breidenstein.
For more information about the Chef's Challenge contact Breidenstein at 535-2227, e-mail info@springtimesplendor.com or visit www.chefs-challenge.com.
Mole Pasilla
12 pasilla chiles
1/2 lb. tomatillos
1 white onion, chopped
1/2 ripe banana, peeled
1 quart chicken stock
2 garlic cloves
1/4 c. salted cashews
1 slice bread, chopped
1 t. dry oregano
1/2 t. black pepper
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. ground coriander
1/2 c. lard
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 T. cocoa powder
Preheat oven to 500Ëš. Toast chiles in oven until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove seeds from chiles (wear gloves -- seeds are hot). Soak tomatillos in hot water and remove husk. Place in a baking dish with onion and roast in oven until the skins turn black, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Bring chicken stock to a boil and remove from heat. Immerse chiles in stock to rehydrate for 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients to chiles and stock and puree in a blender.
Mole Chicken
1 whole chicken
Salt and pepper as needed
1 quart Mole Pasilla
1/4 c. toasted sesame seeds
Preheat grill to medium heat and oil grill surface. Quarter chicken and season with salt and pepper. Grill chicken for six to eight minutes on each side. It's OK that it's not done. You just want to impart a nice smoky flavor to the chicken; it will finish cooking in the mole sauce.
Place grilled chicken in large saute pan and stir in all of the mole sauce. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, to keep sauce from sticking. Cook, uncovered, until oil begins to separate from sauce, about 20 minutes. Sauce will be a rich dark brown color.
Remove chicken from pan and place over rice. Pour some of the remaining sauce over chicken and garnish with sesame seeds. The remainder of the mole from the sauce recipe can be frozen for up to two months and used on another occasion. Just add a little chicken stock to the sauce when reheating.
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