The 2010 Summit Wine and Food Festival's Game Showdown

This even featured 6 chefs cooking duck four a panel of 4 judges and catering to a crowd of about 250 people. The six chefs were Jesse Jones (Executive Chef of Soul Catering), Scott Anderson (Executive Chef of Elements), Scott Snyder (Executive Chef of Boulevard 572), Raj Dixit (Formerly Executive Chef of The Ryland Inn), Jehangir Mehta (Executive Chef of Metaphor and Runner up of Season 2 of The Next Iron Chef), and Anthony Bucco (Executive Chef of Uproot). The four judges were Doug Frost (Master Sommelier), Dennis Foy (Executive Chef of Foys), Ariane Daguin (Owner of D'argantan), and Peter Alexander (Master Sommelier).
Each chef had to prepare a dish with duck that paired with a specific wine.


Jesse Jones- Apricot Glazed Duck Breast with BBQ Duck Legs, Sweet Potato Puree, and Southern Braised Cabbage

 I though that this dish was my least favorite. First off looking at the dish it looked very sloppy. The duck was over cooked, and the sweet potato puree was cold and grainy. The cabbage was just average, not much flavor. Nothing special.




Scott Anderson- Roasted Duck Breast with Butternut Squash Puree, pluots, Spring Roll, and Geo duck

First off I was very excited to try Geoduck. I watched Scott Anderson break it down by peeling the skin off and then mincing he flesh. The Duck was cooked perfectly and the Spring Roll was very tasty. There was a minimal amount of Geoduck so I really did not taste it. This dish was the most beautiful to look at and was one of the most tasty as well.




Scott Snyder- Roasted Duck Breast with Confit Duck Leg, Cabbage, Sweet Potato Puree, Pistachio and Pickled Ginger, and Mission Figs

The Duck was cooked to perfection, it had a great crispy skin. The sweet potato was extraordinary, so rich and luscious. There was a Duck Jus that was just perfect. It was incredible. This dish was the best tasting out of all of the dishes, but looked a tad sloppy on the plate.




Raj Dixit- Smoked Duck with Local Plums, Genko Nuts, Young Ginger, and Black Truffle Eggs
This dish sounded delicious, but I was unable to try it because of the Genko Nuts.






Jehangir Mehta- Duck Portobello Gratinee, Mustard Emulsion

This dish was different from all of the others because there was no sweet fruit paired with the duck. First off this dish was very ascetic. The dish had great flavor and heat. It was the most original out of all of the dishes I tried and was one of the most flavorful.




Anthony Bucco- Roasted and Confit Long Island Duck with Espresso Liquid Gel, Golden Raisin Puree, and Local Apples and Beets

The duck was cooked beautifully. The duck was cured with coffee so the espresso liquid gel brought a nice coffee flavor out of the duck. The Raisin puree added a nice sweetness, and the apples and beets added a great freshness to the dish.







In my opinion the dish that tasted the best was Scott Snyder's, but I did not try Raj's dish and I did not try the dishes with the wine pairings. The judges selected Raj Dixit's dish as their favorite (Of course the only one I did not try). I loved the event and hope to come back next year and have some more delicious duck.