Chef Robert Butler of Café Ile Saint Louis at Paris Las Vegas was named the World Food Championships’ (WFC) first-ever World Food Champion at the Final Table that was held at Caesars Palace on Nov. 4. Butler won $60,000 over the weekend between the sandwich category competition and the WFC Final Table. Sponsored by Kraft Foods, Butler was one of seven final competitors who earned a seat at the Final Table by prevailing in the previous two day’s food category competitions held at Bally’s Las Vegas. Category competitions included barbecue, chili, burgers, sandwiches, side-dishes, a recipe championship featuring winners of online recipe contests and a World Chef Challenge open to some of the best chefs in America’s greatest food cities.
Chef Butler won the sandwich category competition on Saturday, Nov. 3 and $10,000 in prize money, along with a spot to compete in the final WFC battle. The following was his winning
original recipe:
· Asian-flavored braised pork butt sandwich, sliced and crisped in duck fat, on a French loaf with aioli and salad. The aioli contained Dijon mustard, jalapeno, ginger, Chinese mint and a touch of brown sugar. The salad comprised of watercress, cilantro, raddichio, yuli pear and kim chi vinaigrette.
Representing the sandwich competition at the Final Table, Chef Butler went on to compete against six other WFC finalists, including:
- Clark Magee (representing chili)
- Butcher BBQ (representing barbeque)
- Linda Bonwill (representing side-dish)
- Lucky 13 (representing burger)
- Mike Callaghan (representing recipe)
- Travis Brust (representing the Chef Challenge)
The seven final competitors outlasted nearly 300 other competitors to make it to the final showdown.
Along with help of his teammate, Chef Lowell McCain of Le Village Buffet at Paris Las Vegas, Butler prevailed at the WFC Final Table, winning an additional $50,000. The two entries he
turned in to the panel of celebrity judges included:
- Chef Butler’s original recipe that won the WFC sandwich category competition
- A barbeque pulled-pork sandwich on bacon and white cheddar bioche with onion conserve (a jam containing nuts), caramelized sliced apples and white cheddar gratinée using Kraft and Grey Poupon products. The pork was cooked with barbeque sauce, Dijon mustard, bourbon, brown sugar and sliced jalapeños and the onion conserve was made with walnuts. The bacon and white cheddar brioche is a featured bread at Café Ile Saint Louis at Paris Las Vegas.
**This second-round sandwich recipe became the property of Grey Poupon, sponsor of the event.
Photo: Chef Butler and Chef McCain accepting a prize of $50,000 for prevailing at the Final Table of the 2012 WFC. (From left to right: Adam Richman, star of the Travel Channel and host of the WFC; Chef Robert Butler of Café Ile Saint Louis at Paris Las Vegas; Chef Lowell McCain of Le Village Buffet at Paris Las Vegas; Troy Black, emcee of WFC; Mike McCloud, president/CEO of Trybe Targeting and Larry Oliphant, vice president of strategic partnerships of Trybe Targeting).
