On November 4, 2018, the Cincinnati Bailliage had their 11th annual Young Chef’s Competition at the Midwest Culinary Institute (MCI) located at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. Twenty chefs competed for the chance to attend the regional competition and gain bragging rights as the best young culinary talent in the Queen City.
The Cincinnati Bailliage, in conjunction with the Chaîne Foundation, has raised more than $61,000 for the Irwin and Barbara Weinberg Chaîne des Rôtisseur Fund. This fund in turn gives scholarships to many local MCI students.
The competition was the culmination of hours of hard work and planning by Chef Rôtisseur Alan Neace, Vice Chargé de Mission Clint Haynes, and Bailli George Elliott. This year’s esteemed Tasting Judges included Jean Robert de Cavel, Marilyn Harris, Vice Echanson Mary Horn and Paul Parks.
Following the competition, a dine-around dinner was held at the Postmark Restaurant to honor the competition winners – Michael Puma, Mark Mertes, and Malia Miller who captured first, second, and third place respectively.
Postmark is a contemporary American Bistro, which has rocketed to the pinnacle of Cincinnati’s dining scene with Chef-owner Brad Bernstein and general manager Devon Barrett at the helm. Each Chaîne member brought a bottle of their finest wine to share while enjoying an exquisite three-course meal prepared by Chef Bernstein. The offerings included a poached pear salad, crispy skin Salmon, and a scrumptious tiramisu.
Members considered themselves very fortunate to have such strong young talent who will certainly contribute to Cincinnati’s culinary scene in the future.
Graig Smith, Vice Chargé de Presse