Leading chefs from across the country will soon compete in the ultimate blending contest—the 2014 Vitamix Challenge—during the 9th annual StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress in New York City. On October 27, six contestants will contribute their own ingredients to create a signature dish using a Vitamix blender in unusual and innovative ways.
In an attempt to win a full professional kitchen package from Vitamix and the coveted title of 2014 Vitamix Challenge Champion, contenders will have one hour to prepare and present a single dish that showcases their originality, creativity and blending techniques to judges.
In hopes of participating in the 2014 Vitamix challenge, hundreds of chefs submitted original Vitamix recipes. Judges will award points based on unique Vitamix application, taste and overall dish presentation. This year’s judges include: Chef Alex Guarnaschelli of Butter, Chef Norman Van Aken of NORMAN’S, Chef Evan Hennessey of Stages at One Washington and Vitamix Chef and Recipe Development Manager Beverly Shaffer.
The six chefs chosen to compete this year include:
- Robert Sisca –Chef, Bistro Du Midi, Boston, MA
- Melinda Dorn –Pastry Chef, L’Etoile, Madison, WI
- Marcos Fernandez –Chef, Lakeland Yacht & Country Club, Lakeland, FL
- Scott Drewno – Chef, The Source by Wolfgang Puck, Washington, D.C.
- Matt Bolus –Chef, The 404 Kitchen, Nashville, TN
- Courtney Weyl –Pastry Chef, wd~50, New York, NY
“Vitamix is proud to be the exclusive sponsor of this one-of-a-kind blending competition. The challenge provides us with unique insights into how top chefs use our products every day,” said Lisa Klein, vice president of Commercial Sales, Vitamix. “The challenge allows us to honor individuals who are making their mark in the culinary world and to inspire these chefs to innovate now— and long after the competition ends.”
One grand prize winner will receive the ultimate Vitamix package which includes a Vita-Prep® 3, Vitamix XL™, The Quiet One™ and a $500 American Express Gift Card. All six finalists will receive a $500 certificate for travel to New York City, a three-day Industry Pass to attend the StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress and a Vitamix travel bag.
Visit http://www.starchefs.com/cook/icc-sponsor/vitamix/vitamix-challenge/2014 to learn more about the support Vitamix provided for StarChefs.com, including partnership information, product information, chef recommendations and testimonials, and recipes using Vitamix equipment.
About Vitamix®
Vita-Mix® Corporation (“Vitamix”) is a privately held family-owned and -operated company founded in 1921 that manufactures high-performance blending equipment for home and commercial use. The company’s commercial customer list reads like a “Who’s Who” of major restaurant chains, and gourmet chefs say their Vitamix machines are as important to them as their knives. A recognized leader in marketing and product innovation, Vitamix founder William G. “Papa” Barnard created one of the first infomercials in 1949 to demonstrate how the Vitamix blender could help people improve their health with whole foods, and the company developed the first true commercial blender in the early 1990s, which ignited the smoothie movement. Vitamix, whose products are known worldwide for their performance, durability, and reliability, continues to win awards for product innovation and is a recipient of the president’s prestigious “E Star” Award for Exports. Headquartered in Olmsted Township, Ohio, 19 miles from Cleveland, Vitamix products are manufactured in Northeast Ohio and sold in approximately 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.vitamix.com.
About StarChefs.com
StarChefs.com™, the magazine for culinary insiders, has been serving the restaurant industry since 1995. StarChefs.com’s original culinary content is driven by in-person tastings and interviews across the world. Its mission is to catalyze culinary professionals’ success and give them the tools they need to overcome their specific challenges. In addition to featuring top chefs, pastry chefs, sommeliers, and mixologists, StarChefs.com’s Culinary JobFinder is the leading job board connecting culinary and hospitality professionals to careers in the foodservice industry. StarChefs.com™ features more than 30,000 published pages of original, chef-focused culinary content and generates traffic of over 30 million hits a month and was nominated for Best Web Site for Food and Nutrition by the James Beard Foundation.
