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Tahoe chefs battle for Blazing Pans title at food fest |
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Written by Paul Raymore
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Tuesday, 04 September 2007 |
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Flavors will be flying in North Lake Tahoe as two of the area’s finest chefs go head-to-head in the fourth annual Blazing Pans Mountain Chef Cook-Off Saturday, Sept. 15 at the Village at Northstar.
The cooking competition, part of the four-day Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival, will pit current two-time champion Chris Banovich of Big Wave Burritos against Jacques Cornelis, executive chef at the Resort at Squaw Creek.
The one-hour competition will entail both chefs taking one main, secret ingredient and creating as many delicious dishes as possible in the allotted time. Banovich and Cornelis will not know what the main ingredient is until the clock starts ticking. Past secret ingredients have included mackinaw and lamb. Both chefs will also be supplied with a complete pantry of kitchen staples and fresh produce. Celebrity chef Joseph Keller will emcee the spicy competition.
“There’s really no way to prepare for this kind of event,” Banovich said. “I just try to go in with an open mind, be welcome of all the ingredients we’re given and have fun with it.”
 Blazing Pans is one of the most lively events of the festival, with culinary and chef “groupies” filling the audience in hats, costumes and noisemakers to cheer on their favorite chef.
“My wife, friends, and ‘fans’ really get me going,” Banovich said. “It’s a little stressful up there, but all in all a great time.”
Banovich is the former executive chef of Northstar’s Timbercreek restaurant and recently branched out to create Big Wave Burritos, a fresh and healthy burrito and wrap shop in the Village at Northstar, located in Truckee. Banovich’s fare now focuses on Hawaiian, South American, Thai and Mexican slow-roasted flavors amidst a relaxed atmosphere. While he’s traveled and worked extensively in those areas, Banovich notes that his career highlights include winning previous awards at the festival’s Grand Tasting, as well as walking away with the Blazing Pans Mountain Chef Cook-Off title.
Coming from a different corner of North Lake Tahoe, Cornelis also boasts an extensive resume of international experience. He has been with the Resort at Squaw Creek in Olympic Valley since 2000 and oversees all food operations and menus from the upscale Ristorante Montagna to the laid back Sandy’s Pub. Cornelis began his career at the De Watermolen in Belgium (a one-star Michelin property) and has worked in Belgium and France before he became chef de cuisine for Le Cordon Bleu in Dania, Florida.
“We have two extraordinary chefs with completely different styles and backgrounds,” Judy Laverty, director of the Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival, said. “It’s always a fun event to watch, but this year we should see some really amazing creations and ideas come out of the kitchen.”
The Blazing Pans Mountain Chef Cook-Off begins at 2:45 p.m. Passport tickets for Saturday festivities are $45 and access a day long program of food and wine events, including the Blazing Pans Mountain Chef Cook-Off as well as “Today’s American Barbeque” with chef Larks Kronmark, a Gourmet Marketplace, Big Kids’ Cooking Camp with Chef Lara Ritchie and a cooking demonstration with Executive Chef Ron Siegel of the Ritz Carlton, San Francisco.
Festival tickets are now on sale and can be purchased, along with lodging, by calling 1-888-229-2193 or going to www.GoTahoeNorth.com/foodandwine.
Attendees can also buy tickets at the North Lake Tahoe Visitor Information Centers at 380 North Lake Boulevard in Tahoe City or 969 Tahoe Boulevard in Incline Village, as well as Nothing to It Cooking School, 225 Crummer Lane at South Virginia in Reno. The festival’s website, www.GoTahoeNorth.com/foodandwine, is home to a complete list of events and activities.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 05 September 2007 )
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