Portland, ME — Students at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York City chopped, fried, seared and steamed their way to thousands of dollars in scholarships at the 12th Annual “Cooking with Allagash” scholarship competition — and a seared venison dish took home the top prize.
Founded in 2002, this competition has been a partnership between Allagash Brewing Company, known for its dedication to brewing the best Belgian inspired beers in the world, and ICE, New York City’s largest and most active center for culinary education.
Dean of Students, Andy Gold credits the Allagash competition with helping students develop professionally. “Through competition and scholarship, dozens of students over the last 12 years have benefited from the generosity of Allagash through tuition reductions as prizes, but also have learned a sense of comradeship and professionalism through personal challenge. “
Students create and submit recipes to their instructors, who then narrow the field to three finalists. All three finalists are presented with scholarships from Allagash totaling $3500.
“I’d recommend the Allagash contest to every student,” said this year’s winner Hadar Aviram. “Beyond getting to try an amazing craft beer, you get to really open up your mind, try new techniques, get to know new cuisines and stretch your own limits.”
This year, the students were tasked with creating a Belgian inspired dish that pairs nicely with the newly released Allagash Saison.
Winners of the 12th Annual Cooking with Allagash Scholarship competition were:
- Hadar Aviram – awarded the best overall dish and was this year’s winner with her Seared Venison over Pommes Puree with Fried Venison Croquettes and Pickled Brussels Sprouts and a Spiced Red Wine Sauce. 1st place receives a $2000 scholarship.
- David Kurihara – awarded best pairing and was the runner up with his Chicken Roulade with Collard Green Slaw, Spiced Powder and White Gravy. 2nd place receives a $1000 scholarship.
- Adrian Brown — awarded most creative dish and came in third with his Moules Meatballs and Belgian Waffle Frites with Endive, Fennel, Celery Root Blood Orange and Grapefruit. 3rd place receives a $500 scholarship.
The judges were Chef Ivy Stark of Dos Caminos, Lauren Buzzeo of Wine Enthusiast, James Piccolo of Tarry Lodge and beer writer Josh Bernstein. The judges rate on presentation and portion size, flavor and degree of doneness, originality/creativity, technique, and pairing with beer.
“I was amazed by pairing prowess of the next generation of chefs,” says Joshua M. Bernstein, the author of The Complete Beer Course. “They proved that no good meal is complete without a great beer.”
Recipes can be found on www.allagash.com/food/ICE-contest/2014
For pictures of this years’ ICE event, visit our Flickr page at www.flickr.com/photos/allagashbrewing
For additional information, please email jpillet-shore@allagash.com.
About Allagash Brewing Company
Allagash was founded by Rob Tod in 1995, and has grown from a one-man operation into one of the Top 50 Craft Breweries in U.S. (by sales volume) and a spot on Maine’s Best Places to Work list in 2013. Allagash brews Belgian inspired beers and is best known for its flagship beer, Allagash White. Allagash has won many national and international awards in its 19 years, and is viewed as a leader of innovative brewing techniques in the craft beer world. Being environmentally and socially responsible is a core value at Allagash, constantly working to lessen the environmental impact of their operations. Allagash distributes beer in 17 states and DC.
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