Congratulations to not one but two members of Pandion who are among the top four finalists for Premier’s 2018 Culinary Creations recipe contest. Ethan Headley, Director of Nutrition from Finger Lakes Health, and Neal Plazio, Executive Chef at the University at Buffalo, both submitted recipes selected from the “best of the best” by a group of Premier member chefs.
This year’s category is breakfast all day. Headley is being recognized for his dish, Shakshuka Breakfast Bowl (Middle Eastern Eggs in Purgatory), and Plazio’s creation is titled Breakfast Tempeh Sope.
They are among the top four finalists invited to attend Premier’s Foodservice Forum at Breakthroughs in Nashville, TN, where their dishes will be made by the hotel and served at the Culinary Creation dinner on June 20, 2018. The dishes are then voted on by members and suppliers in attendance and a winner is given the Top Culinary Award for his or her achievement.
We asked both finalists about their dishes and this is what they had to say.
Neal Palazio, Executive Chef, University at Buffalo Campus Dining & Shops:
“We are really excited about showcasing this dish.
The Breakfast Tempeh Sope was a dish that evolved over the past couple of months. Assistant Executive Chefs Amelia Ruiz and Jessica Arends had come up with a Barbacoa Sope hors d’ oeuvres for the local ACF Taste of Culinary event as we are always trying to combine international flavors in new ways. It was well received.
This was the nucleus for the final dish. As we look at brunch options on campus, the international flavors trend well. This, combined with the need for plant-based options inspired the use of the tempeh, along with dialing in the critical nutritionals with our Dietitian Lori Bendersky.
In the end, we have a dish that was a collaborative effort of the Culinary Team that will end up on the menu for brunch next Fall.”
Ethan Headley, Director of Nutrition, Finger Lakes Health:
“When I first read the criteria for the contest I immediately thought of the dish Eggs in Purgatory. I tend to prefer a savorier breakfast over a sweet one. I figured I could easily turn this into a breakfast bowl. I came up with the idea to use Harissa to make the tomato sauce spicy rather than the more tradition chili flakes. This steered the dish into a Middle Eastern/North African direction, hence Shakshuka.
Almost any whole grain would have worked in the dish, but Freekeh is from a similar region and helped to tie the theme together. I looked into some regional cheeses which were extremely hard to come by, so I opted for the similarly salty Feta which is much easier to come by. The addition of the avocado provided a source of healthy fat which was a requirement of the dish and would also lend a cooling effect if a person found the Harissa to be too strong. I tend to think regionally when I cook, so once the original idea was in my head the rest of the recipe came about rather quickly.”
Pandion is proud of both finalists, as well as our partnerships with their member institutions. We look forward to hearing the results next month and again, congratulate Ethan and Neal on this tremendous honor!