A taste of the judging of the Taste
- Details
- Published on 15 August 2013
- Written by Kevin Kizer
With the Taste of Peoria still fresh on the palate, I thought now would be the perfect time to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the food judging that occurs just before the event. I myself am a judge and have been for the past three years. It’s a burden I will continue to shoulder as long as they continue to invite me back to eat free food.
The judging itself takes place in the Gateway Building. Around 50 judges of all sizes, shapes and ages are ushered into a conference room and sat at tables of five or six. Each table has a captain, whose job it is to present each dish to the table with its code number (since it is a blind tasting). Then each table is given its food categories – appetizers, entrées, desserts or beverages. Each item gets judged (on a one to 10 scale) on appearance, taste, creativity and difficult. My table and the table directly behind me were given appetizers and entrées to judge.
Early on, I had a feeling the judging, at least where I sat, would be a little more lively than usual. That’s because I found myself surrounded by several professional chefs, including our table captain Jeff Duval. Jeff is an Executive Chef for Eurest, an international food service company which serves Caterpillar. He spends his days serving up world-class cuisine to Caterpillar executives and visitors.
After we were given our directions, the food began coming out. The amount of food you receive is up to each restaurant – sometimes you get a full-size portion while other times you get the equivalent of an amuse-bouche (which is really all you want when judging so many items). What follows are my impressions of (along with some of Jeff’s insights into) the foods we tasted, along with my best attempt at matching them to their restaurant. You can see photos of the dishes (along with Chef Jeff) in the rotator to the right. Enjoy!
Appetizers
Shredded Beef Nacho with Mango Salsa
Qdoba Mexican Grill
The biggest challenge these restaurants face is ensuring that their proteins are at a reasonable temperature when they reach the judges. Not always an easy feat. But the shredded beef was perfectly cooked and the mango salsa very fresh and light, with the cilantro coming on strong at the end. The photo above does not do it justice as I forgot to take a picture before I inhaled the beef and half of the salsa. But even the loan chip and the rest of the salsa were nice on their own. Good start to the evening.
BBQ Wings
Uncle Buck’s Fish Bowl & Grill
Now, several restaurants featured different types of wings and, since this was a blind tasting, I’m guessing as to where mine were from. Since they were covered in BBQ sauce, I’m guessing these were from Uncle Buck’s (the only other that seemed close was “Smoked Wings” from Hickory River Smokehouse). Having said that, the wings were good and the BBQ sauce tangy. That might sound like a very simplistic analysis but we’re talking about wings here. Not exactly the type of food item of which you have thoughtful, in-depth analysis. They get crammed down your gob during sporting events, sometimes covered in ranch sauce and followed by cold beer. Enjoyable, indeed. But not something to wax rhapsodic about.
Cheese Soup
Unidentified Entrant
For the life of me, I couldn’t match this soup up with any of the original, published dishes. Perhaps that’s a good thing. I eyed my sample suspiciously – the texture seemed off. Then I noticed Executive Chef Jeff taking a food thermometer from out of his chef’s jacket (like a doctor with a stethoscope, I suppose) and dipping it into the viscous liquid. The reading was around 80 degrees so we took the advice of Walter White in “Breaking Bad” and tread lightly. Not a winner, but potential.
Artisan Olive Bread Stick
Schnucks
Well, props to Schnucks for a very good Olive Bread Stick. Olive bread is one of those simple things that can go horribly wrong. Schucks got it right and this one got a positive reaction from the chefs around me.
Nachos Deluxe
The Other Dawg
To both Chef Jeff and I, on first inspection this one through up an immediate red flag: raw white onions as a topping. But then it got worse. Canned cheese sauce. But wait, there’s more. We got to the meat. I took one nose-curling bite and inquired, “Curry?” Chef Jeff responded, derisively, “That’s no curry.” We decided that at one point, what we were eating had been ground beef heavily doused in cumin. What they did to the meat after that could be anyone’s guess. Let’s just say, stay away from the Nachos Deluxe.
Vietnamese Chicken Curry
Thanh Linh
Talk about perfect timing! After gagging over the previous curry-laden meat-like appetizer, we were treated to a REAL curry – which I should have known was from Thanh Linh. I am a big curry fan, as is Chef Jeff, so this dish was right up our alley. Great curries start and finish differently. In this case, you were confronted first by cardamom and cinnamon which was followed by turmeric culminating in a warm feel on the palate. You could spend your lifetime studying all the different styles of curries around the world, from India (and, hence Britain) and the Middle East, to Southeast Asia and through China, curries vary from region to region, even family to family. And, as Chef Jeff noted while fully sampling this appetizer, you could tell this curry was from a family recipe. Excellent! Well done, Thanh Linh!
ENTREES
Grilled Chicken Soft Taco
Unidentified Entrant – Maybe Granite City?
Again, another one that I can’t identify the restaurant based on their list of dishes. Too bad as this was very good. They did a great job of keeping the chicken moist and warm, and giving it a little punch with some marinated/pickled vegetables. This had the chefs’ approval as well.
Cabbage Roll
Haddad’s Restaurant
Although mine was a bit short on the cabbage*, this was a perfectly cooked Cabbage Roll. A crispy, flakey crust gave way to a rich meaty, cheesy interior. This definitely would need to be paired with something light to counterbalance all the rich flavors. Good stuff, though, and well done by Haddad’s (as usual).
*Something you don’t hear every day.
Filet Kabob with Balsamic Glaze and Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Boyd’s Steakhouse
This will be shock to many who have partaken in Boyd’s fare. So buckle yourself in. While this looks lovely in the photo, the steak was raw. Yes, raw. It was (in your best Gordon Ramsey-type screech) RAW!! I could tell as soon as I touched it with my fork*. Chef Jeff quickly dissected his piece to reveal what we all knew in our hearts. It was (again, with Ramsey-like flair) RAW! Some comments were made about blue meat and onward we went. Let me just say, the marinade and potatoes were nice. Also, let this not be a mark against Boyd’s at all. It was just a bad service. That doesn’t reflect on the quality of their cuisine as they are one of the best steakhouses around. It was just an unfortunate occurrence (and they ruined some perfectly good steak!). I even commented that, well, it’s got to be difficult to create perfect dishes in this environment, which was met with grunts of disagreement from all around me, punctuated by Chef Jeff saying, under his breath, “It’s not that hard.”
* Here’s a cheater’s guide to testing the doneness of meat by touch. Press your finger to your cheek – that’s what raw meat feels like (spongy). Press your finger to your chin – that’s what medium-cooked meat feels like (springy). Press your finger to your forehead – that’s what well-done meat feels like (no give)
Crab Cakes with Maryland Sauce
The Fresh Market
Anyone who knows me and my foodie nature knows I haunt the aisles of Fresh Market. But this crab cake caused me to react in a way I often react when having a crab cake in this area, which is to say aloud, “Why can I never find a decent crab cake?” To which Chef Jeff responded, “Well, look where we are.” Fair point, Chef Jeff, fair point. I just need to stop ordering them in land-locked locales. No black mark against the Fresh Market in my book though. After all, they’re the ones that sell “Wake Me Up Before You Cocoa” cookies.
Italian Beef Slider
Raber Packing
What a great way to end after a couple of grand disappointments. Chef Jeff and I agreed that this was perfectly cooked beef. You could tell by the texture. Sometimes pulled beef looks like it’s been attacked by a jackal. Not Raber’s. This was perfectly shredded, in that it didn’t need to be shredded at all. You can tell it just fell off the bone. And all the delicious juices and Italian flavors were soaked up in a fluffy little hoagie roll. Well done, Raber!
10th Annual Maka Maka set for Thursday
- Details
- Published on 13 August 2013
- Written by Paul Gordon
When Maui Jim first proposed the Maka Maka Fun Run/Walk as a fund raising event for Peoria Friendship House the organizers estimated it would become a $25,000 event.
"We were thrilled with the $4,000 raised the first year. We couldn't fathom $25,000," said Laura Clark, vice president and chief administrative officer for Peoria Friendship House. "So when we hit $50,000 last year, we were speechless."
The 10th annual Maka Maka will be run and walked this Thursday, Aug. 15, with the start and finish at Maui Jim headquarters in Peoria. The event, a three-mile run and 1.5-mile walk, starts at 6 p.m.
Advance registration, which costs $40 and can be done online at www.active.com, closes at 11:50 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 14. There also is a post-race celebration, with food, drink and music.
Maui Jim first proposed Maka Maka because it wanted to do something with a not-for-profit agency to give back to the community. The company contacted the Heart of Illinois United Way for suggestions and from among those connected with Friendship House, Clark said.
"It has been a wonderful association for us. It is without question our biggest fundraiser of the year," she said. "It has been rewarding to watch Maka Maka evolve into the event it is today."
Since Peoria Friendship House opened in 1951 it has provided services to more than 250,000 of Peoria's most vulnerable and at-risk individuals and families. Through the simple gesture of a free meal, a clean shirt or a safe place to learn, Peoria Friendship House offers the hope of a new start to the least, the last and the lost.
"It has been even more rewarding to have worked alongside various Maui Jim employees throughout the years and to have witnessed their dedication to the Maka Maka, their community and the mission of Friendship House. The support of the community, the growing number of individuals and families willing to support Friendship House in the heat or in the rain, has also been truly inspiring. The Maka Maka Fun Run/Walk has helped Friendship House make a difference in the lives of so many people in need," Clark said.
For Maui Jim the event offers the community with a fun way to stay in shape, while raising money and awareness for the Peoria Friendship House.
"We are proud to be associated with the Friendship House and host the Maka Maka run at Maui Jim," said Alicia Wroblewski, event direct and sponsorship specialist at Maui Jim. "We enjoy helping our local partners in any way we can. We have seen more and more support over the years for this event; and we know this year will be no exception."
In addition to the money raised by the race entrants, the "Friends Helping Friends" fundraiser is an opportunity for individuals in the community to raise funds by contacting family, friends and co-workers to raise an additional $250 or $500 for the Friendship House and receive a free pair of sunglasses.
Participants can register for the 3 mile run or 1.5 mile walk and obtain Friends Helping Friends information at http://tinyurl.com/makamaka2013. For those interested who would still like to support the Friendship House but do not want to walk/run a $15 donation is appreciated for the post-race party.
Packet pick-up will be Tuesday and Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. and Thursday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Maui Jim's headquarters at One Aloha Lane.
For further information on Friendship House programs call 309-671-5200 or visit our website at www.peoriafriendshiphouse.org. Peoria Friendship House of Christian Service is proud to be a Heart of Illinois United Way Community Partner.
Cat shows support for immigration reform bill
- Details
- Published on 08 August 2013
- Written by Paul Gordon
A pair of heavy hitters in the business and political arenas joined Thursday to urge the U.S. House of Representatives to adopt the Senate-approved immigration reform bill because of its benefits to the economy.
Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Inc., met with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to give his support of the bipartisan Senate bill approved earlier this year and now awaiting House action.
"This is a very good, common sense bill and approach to immigration," Oberhelman said during a brief news conference that followed their meeting and tour of the Caterpillar Visitors Center.
"World economic conditions are important to us," Oberhelman noted while standing in front of the full-size model mining truck that is the centerpiece of the Visitors Center. "These trucks are made in Decatur but the vast majority of them are exported."
Durbin said sensible immigration laws that would allow foreign students to stay in the United States and work after graduating college would enable Caterpillar and other companies to hire the best people in the world. As it is, he said, these companies help train the students through college coursework and internships only to lose them to their worldwide competitors "because after they graduate we see them off to the airport and tell them goodbye."
He added, "We have got to recognize the need for the best workers in the world. We need to focus on that like a laser. There is a direct link between immigration reform and economic growth in the United States."
The two praised each other for the leadership the other has shown in regard to the immigration issue. Oberhelman has in the past called for more work visas to be allowed for foreign engineers while Durbin was a member of the Senate Gang of Eight, the bipartisan group of Senators that produced the immigration reform bill, a difficult issue he said had defied Congress for decades.
The bill, Durbin said, "would allow millions who live and work in our country to come out of the shadows and earn their place here. We need this bill for the security of our country and the competitiveness of our economy. This is our best chance in a generation to enact comprehensive immigration reform."
He vowed to continue working on the issue with House members on a bipartisan effort to get a low to President Obama for his signature.
Senate approval of the bill, Durbin added, "showed that bipartisanship is not dead" and that Congress can still take on important issues on a bipartisan basis. "It's now up to the House to continue the momentum. I urge my colleagues to work together in a bipartisan fashion and vote to bring our country's immigration system into the 21st century."
Durbin's office said Illinois is projected to need to fill more than 300,000 science, technology, engineering and math jobs in the next five years, but more than 40 percent of the students in those fields now are international students and temporary immigrants. The Senate bill would allow employers to sponsor for a green card any of those students if they graduate from a U.S. college and will be working in one of those fields.
The bill also would nearly double the cap on visas allowed for skilled workers, from 65,000 to 115,000. At the same time it toughens requirements for first recruiting U.S. workers before hiring foreign workers and cracks down on using foreign workers to outsource American jobs.
The bill also would require an employer who hiring a high-skilled foreign worker to pay a fee into as fund to help train Americans for those jobs.
A new agricultural guest worker section of the bill would aim to stabilize agricultural workforces and Durbin's office said regional economic models estimate that would create more than 1,700 jobs and increase Illinois residents' by $101 million.
The Senate bill would provide a pathway for undocumented immigrants now living and working in the U.S. to work toward citizenship, provided they pay several fees, have committed no major crimes, are working and are learning English. It would take 13 years from the time an application is filed to attain citizenship, Durbin said.
Midstate College celebrates 125 years
- Details
- Published on 09 August 2013
- Written by Paul Gordon
From humble beginnings in which business office skills were the only thing taught, Midstate College has come a long way.
At 125 years old, it still is fulfilling the specific needs of its students but the college now offers much more than those early years and expanded academic programs are in the offing, the private owned school's president and CEO said Friday.
"We've got some big things planned for our future. Unfortunately I cannot say much about them right now but we soon will be offering opportunities and services to Peoria that aren't here now. It will be exciting," Meredith Bunch said.
Midstate held a celebration of its 125th year on Thursday, with a couple hundred in attendance at its small but growth campus on Northmoor Road. Bunch and her father, Dale Bunch, who is chairman of the Midstate College Board, placed a special commemorative brick in the garden marking the occasion.
Dignitaries on hand praised the college, which began as Brown's Business College and occupied space in a building in downtown Peoria.
The Illinois State Senate had a plaque presented to the Bunch family by State Sens. David Koehler, D-Peoria, and Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, lauding the school for the vital role it has long played in the Peoria community.
Bunch said the brick she and her father planted "represents the hard work of my family, the faculty and staff and the students of Midstate College. We have always taken pride in being involved with progress in the community and we look forward to staying involved."
The college was founded in 1888 by G.W. Brown and at the start offered classes in such business applications as accounting and management. At the time, Bunch said, completion of the classes led to a certificate because degrees were not part of the mix or considered necessary for that type of work.
Today, the programs offered are much broader in scope and the school now offers bachelor degrees and associate degrees in several fields. Most of the growth, including the physical growth in the move from downtown to Northmoor Road in the late 1990s, has occurred since the Bunch family acquired the college more than 50 years ago.
"We've had tremendous growth through the year and look forward to the future with excitement," Bunch said. "I wish I could say more but the most I can tell you is that we are involved in a large consortium of other schools and businesses that is going to be cutting edge. New programs are being developed now and it has been gratifying to be involved in the planning."
In the meantime Midstate will continue adding programs where appropriate for the region and while physical expansion is likely in the future, it also will continue expanding its online education programming, Bunch said.
Enrollment at Midstate is about 550, including those enrolled in online classes, and the college has 65 instructors; 23 full-time and 42 adjunct. The average on-campus class size is 10 students, which Bunch said enables a close relationship between the instructor and the student, which she added can be critical to the success of some students.
Enrollment is underway for the fall term, which begins Aug. 19.
Komen research continues focus on environment
- Details
- Published on 02 August 2013
- Written by Paul Gordon
With a focus on how the environment may be a factor in breast cancer, Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced it will fund $42 million in research in its 2013 research portfolio.
From that total $4.5 million in funding will research the environment issue, the organization said in a news release.
"The new environmental grants will build on research that Komen has already funded to more fully understand the role of toxins and other environmental factors that may contribute to breast cancer," the release said.
"These environmental studies will add to our understanding of how breast cancer develops," said Chandini Portteus, Komen's chief mission officer. "At the same time, Komen will continue to fund research along the entire cancer spectrum – from prevention, to better screening, more personalized treatments for metastatic disease, and ending disparities in outcomes for women of color and those without adequate access to healthcare."
Komen's total research portfolio now has topped $790 million, the largest breast cancer research investment of any nonprofit other than the U.S. government.
In Illinois Komen has invested more than $16.5 million in research since the organization began in 1982, said Linda Maricle, executive director of the Susan G. Komen Memorial Affiliate in Peoria. Komen affiliates in Illinois have also funded more than $25.6 million to community health programs that provide screenings, financial aid and social and emotional support to women and families throughout the state – nearly $10 million by Komen Memorial alone, she added.
"Up to 75 percent of the net funds we raise locally stay here to support our local community health and education programs. The other 25 percent helps fund Komen's national research programs," Maricle said. "We're thankful for our supporters who help us serve our communities here at home, while supporting our education and research institutions."
Of the 2013 grant award seven were for $1 million each and several others were for amount just short of that.
The 2013 Illinois research grants will focus on cancer genomics and improved diagnostic guidelines, the organization said. The grants recipients include:
$225,0000 to Olufunmilayo Olopade, M.D., F.A.C.P, at the University of Chicago to continue her groundbreaking work on breast cancer in women of African descent. Olopade will use the funds to expand the Nigerian Breast Cancer study into the role of genetic and non-genetic factors that make women of African descent more likely to develop aggressive forms of breast cancer and at a younger age.
$30,000 to the Society of Surgical Oncology to develop guidelines on how much normal tissue surrounding the tumor should be removed during a lumpectomy to achieve "clear margins," to be sure that the cancerous cells are removed. Development of these guidelines will help reduce variability in treatment and lead to fewer women having too much or too little normal tissue removed during lumpectomies, thereby reducing the need for additional procedures such as re-excisions or elevated radiation boost doses.
The five environmental grants awarded for 2013 include separate studies on the impact of radiation exposure on breast cancer development during screening and treatment; pollutants in areas where cancer rates are disproportionately high; the impact of air pollution on breast cancer development, and the role of synthetic chemicals called phthalates.
These grants include grants to Brigham and Women's Medical Center in Boston; Duke University in Durham, N.C.; Emory University in Atlanta; and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. "In each of these grants, we are attempting to move beyond theories to establish a solid base of scientific evidence on the role of environmental exposures to breast cancer development," said Portteus.
Komen has already invested nearly $14 million into 38 research grants studying environmental and lifestyle factors that may affect breast cancer risk, such as chemicals, diet, weight, exercise and alcohol use.
"Our research and community health outreach would not be possible without the generosity of our partners and donors in communities, and we are so grateful for those who understand and support this vital work for all people facing breast cancer," Portteus said.
A complete list and description of Komen's 2013 grants, including the new peer-reviewed Illinois grants, can be viewed at www.komen.org/2013grants.
