Food Judging Information
My staff and I have had the honor of judging the culinary salon at TOT since the events inception. Seeing the outpouring of eager local establishments all working hard to impress not just the judging staff, but the thousands of guests is inspiring! This event has it all! Wonderful food and drink, a great competitive spirit, fun entertainment, smiling faces. Plus it gives those who visit the opportunity to sample a snippet of the cuisine offered by so many of our proud local establishments, all in one mid-week May afternoon! We can't wait to be a part of the 2010 TOT!
Bobby Lerz & Brenda Dziengiel
Principals
Hospitality Innovations, Inc.
Hospitality Innovations, Inc. is a Food Service Consulting company that specializes in conceptualizing and coordinating all facets of new business start up and operation. Hospitality Innovations, Inc. President, Executive Chef & Founder Bobby Lerz Brings twenty-six years experience to the table in his culinary endeavors. Based out of his three offices in Manhattan, Long Island, and most recently Middletown, New York, H.I., Inc. has been affiliated with and/or consulted for several of the top companies and firms in the metro area. Including: The nationally known law firm of Thelen Reid & Priest, LLP. The countries oldest continuously operating law firm, Chadborne & Parke, LLP. New York Life, Inc., Clairol, Bristol-Meyer Squibb, The German American Chamber of Commerce, Martha Stewart through her agent Susan Magrino, and Infinity Broadcasting. For the past five years Chef Bobby has been the daily Executive Chef, and one of the supporting charactors to Howard Stern, and the Howard Stern Show. In his “normal” work life Chef Bobby has held the position(s) of Executive Chef for Raddisson Hotels, Sous Chef for the Omni Sagamore Resort, and Food Service Director for both the Compass Group and CulinArt Dining Services. In Orange County, NY Hospitality Innovations, Inc. created and operated CAFÉ SFF - Florida, NY, CLUB ONTAROGA - Goshen, NY, consulted for GLEN ARDEN RETIREMENT COMMUNITY - Goshen, NY, and owns/operates Poor Bobby’s HARD TIMES TAVERN - Middletown, NY.
Hospitality Innovations prides itself on being a company that “gives back”. Throughout it’s tenure in the culinary world H.I. has successfully partnered with several other organizations such as Manhattan Wine Seminars, and Women For Wine Sense, to raise money for breast cancer and heart disease research. Most recently Chef Bobby has focused his charitable efforts on raising money for the family survivors of WTC Ladder Company #18, the first on the scene that dark day. As a lecturer, keynote speaker and event host Chef Bobby dedicates the “spirit” of his events to his comrades in the Local 6, and Local 100 Food Service Workers unions. These organizations suffered heavy loses on September 11, 2001.
Chef Bobby and/or Hospitality Innovations have successfully earned several prestigious culinary awards over the years. Including First Place, 1988 Capital District Culinary Salon Garde Manger (cold competition). First Place, 1995 Compass Business & Industry Tri-State Culinary Salon, and Fourth Place at the 1999 NYC Marriott Marquis – Bohrer Foods Culinarian Mystery Basket Cook-Off.
The culinary and dining management exploits of both Chef Bobby and Hospitality Innovations have been chronicled throughout the years in mainline media. Including Food Service Director Magazine, Food Service Innovations Magazine, Crain’s New York, The Daily News, The New York Times, Total Food Service Magazine, CBS Radio & Television, WXRK New York, and the E! Entertainment Network.
Hospitality Innovations prides itself on being a company that “gives back”. Throughout it’s tenure in the culinary world H.I. has successfully partnered with several other organizations such as Manhattan Wine Seminars, and Women For Wine Sense, to raise money for breast cancer and heart disease research. Most recently Chef Bobby has focused his charitable efforts on raising money for the family survivors of WTC Ladder Company #18, the first on the scene that dark day. As a lecturer, keynote speaker and event host Chef Bobby dedicates the “spirit” of his events to his comrades in the Local 6, and Local 100 Food Service Workers unions. These organizations suffered heavy loses on September 11, 2001.
Chef Bobby and/or Hospitality Innovations have successfully earned several prestigious culinary awards over the years. Including First Place, 1988 Capital District Culinary Salon Garde Manger (cold competition). First Place, 1995 Compass Business & Industry Tri-State Culinary Salon, and Fourth Place at the 1999 NYC Marriott Marquis – Bohrer Foods Culinarian Mystery Basket Cook-Off.
The culinary and dining management exploits of both Chef Bobby and Hospitality Innovations have been chronicled throughout the years in mainline media. Including Food Service Director Magazine, Food Service Innovations Magazine, Crain’s New York, The Daily News, The New York Times, Total Food Service Magazine, CBS Radio & Television, WXRK New York, and the E! Entertainment Network.
Judging Guidelines
Fellow Restaurateurs & Chefs,
Thank you for making the time in your busy schedules to attend and participate in this wonderful event. I have been selected once again by the Taste of the Town organizers to judge the culinary salon competition. Following please find pertinent information you will need regarding this years competition.
General Scope of Competition
Typically, properly designed ACF (American Culinary Federation) Chef competitions are loaded with extensive bylaws, protocols, and regulations. This intense level of structure does have a place in the world of culinary competition. ACF sponsored and recognized events enable competitors to accumulate points in our industry. These points and credits can over time be used to advance our status and certification within the Chef community. For example, one of the requirements to become an ACF Certified Executive Chef includes culminating points through appearances in culinary salon competitions. Other Chef’s who thrive on competition sometimes end up qualifying for the Culinary Olympics by racking up wins in ACF competitions. Presently, this competition is not sponsored by the ACF. This enables us to have a little more latitude with respect to judging requirements and protocol.
Our competition will have a more community driven feel to it. This competition is not designed to showcase any one facility as the best restaurant in our area. It is a means to showcase the tone and culture of what your facility offers its guests. As the Judge for this event I will not simply be tasting your food and numerically rating the product. I will be immersing myself in the “feel” of what you are bringing to this areas dining public.
Scoring Structure
There will be three categories in this competition, Fine Dining, Casual Fare and Dessert.
Your goal will be to communicate what your facility offers our area to me through the cuisine you send back to the judging room. The playing field will be level, and blind to what genre of cuisine you specialize in. Everyone has a shot, and I promise at the days end I will explain my exact methodology in selecting the winners.
There will be two judges in the scoring room. We will be scoring food in three categories: Taste, Presentation, and Creativity.
TASTE: An obvious component of a culinary competition. This is self-explanatory. Make the food taste wonderful.
PRESENTATION: Let’s 86 the paper plates this year. Even if your place serves food in paper bags and paper plates use some kind of hard or china vessel for this competition. We will keep them all in the judging room for you to pick up after the competition is over. Plate up your items as you would in your restaurant. I will factor in the distance these plates need to travel; I know they won’t be very hot when they finally get to me. That is okay.
CREATIVITY: I hope not to see U-12 Boiled Shrimp Cocktail on-ice with a cup of cocktail sauce made from ketchup and horseradish. Know what I mean? Get creative on this day. Do something that tells me who you are and what you like to project through your food.
Each of these categories will be rated on a 1 – 10 score, ten being the best. The best possible score an entrant could achieve is 30 points from each judge, 60 points total.
Additional Guidelines
In order to maintain strong structure and fairness we need to institute some guidelines pertaining to the actual submission of food to be judged:
Prepare UP TO THREE items from your facility. These items can be in any category. Appetizer, salad, entrée, dessert, whatever. You may submit three of any one category, or spread it out a bit by preparing one of each. Submit no more than three items total. If desired, you may just prepare one item that represents your facility.
Prepare a 3” X 5” index card for EACH plate submitted. Name and describe your submission on this card. Tell me a little about the dish if you like. DO NOT indicate who you are, or what facility you represent anywhere on the card. This is an anonymous competition. If you submit three dishes, send back three index cards, one for each item. If you are assigned a contestant number by the TOT staff, you may indicate that number on each card you submit. This is an anonymous competition.
This year I would like to see a representative of each facility present at the stage when I announce the winners. Keep an ear out for announcements.
There is no need to submit basic side-salads in the competition. We know you all are able to chop lettuce. If you submit a salad, make it one of your showcase entrée salads.
YOU be responsible for dressing salads, saucing plates, and garnishing dishes. If you send back an entrée salad, put your favorite dressing on it for me! If you typically serve a sauce in a ramekin, then do so for the judging, that is fine. Otherwise, please sauce-up your dishes exactly as you would if serving to a guest in your establishment.
Do not submit platters of food. Please individually plate items. We only need ONE plate of each item submitted.
Be careful not to use any equipment or vessel that identifies your facility. In fairness, if you identify yourself, I must disqualify your entry. If you are issued a number, please indicate that number wherever you want.
Please use foodservice gloves when preparing and plating your dishes.
Please ensure that any pork or poultry item is brought to 160 degrees or higher during initial preparation.
I will have my own silverware; please don’t send any back to me. If you submit Asian dishes that are typically consumed with chopsticks, please send those back to me.
Do not submit alcoholic beverages of any kind whatsoever.
Please note that this document is an addendum to any and all guideline documents you receive from the TOT organizers. They will structure all issues pertaining to your booth and the days activities.
Most of all, have fun. Represent yourselves well in the community. I look forward to tasting all your wonderful cuisine!
Bobby Lerz
President & Executive Chef, Hospitality Innovations, Inc.
Fellow Restaurateurs & Chefs,
Thank you for making the time in your busy schedules to attend and participate in this wonderful event. I have been selected once again by the Taste of the Town organizers to judge the culinary salon competition. Following please find pertinent information you will need regarding this years competition.
General Scope of Competition
Typically, properly designed ACF (American Culinary Federation) Chef competitions are loaded with extensive bylaws, protocols, and regulations. This intense level of structure does have a place in the world of culinary competition. ACF sponsored and recognized events enable competitors to accumulate points in our industry. These points and credits can over time be used to advance our status and certification within the Chef community. For example, one of the requirements to become an ACF Certified Executive Chef includes culminating points through appearances in culinary salon competitions. Other Chef’s who thrive on competition sometimes end up qualifying for the Culinary Olympics by racking up wins in ACF competitions. Presently, this competition is not sponsored by the ACF. This enables us to have a little more latitude with respect to judging requirements and protocol.
Our competition will have a more community driven feel to it. This competition is not designed to showcase any one facility as the best restaurant in our area. It is a means to showcase the tone and culture of what your facility offers its guests. As the Judge for this event I will not simply be tasting your food and numerically rating the product. I will be immersing myself in the “feel” of what you are bringing to this areas dining public.
Scoring Structure
There will be three categories in this competition, Fine Dining, Casual Fare and Dessert.
Your goal will be to communicate what your facility offers our area to me through the cuisine you send back to the judging room. The playing field will be level, and blind to what genre of cuisine you specialize in. Everyone has a shot, and I promise at the days end I will explain my exact methodology in selecting the winners.
There will be two judges in the scoring room. We will be scoring food in three categories: Taste, Presentation, and Creativity.
TASTE: An obvious component of a culinary competition. This is self-explanatory. Make the food taste wonderful.
PRESENTATION: Let’s 86 the paper plates this year. Even if your place serves food in paper bags and paper plates use some kind of hard or china vessel for this competition. We will keep them all in the judging room for you to pick up after the competition is over. Plate up your items as you would in your restaurant. I will factor in the distance these plates need to travel; I know they won’t be very hot when they finally get to me. That is okay.
CREATIVITY: I hope not to see U-12 Boiled Shrimp Cocktail on-ice with a cup of cocktail sauce made from ketchup and horseradish. Know what I mean? Get creative on this day. Do something that tells me who you are and what you like to project through your food.
Each of these categories will be rated on a 1 – 10 score, ten being the best. The best possible score an entrant could achieve is 30 points from each judge, 60 points total.
Additional Guidelines
In order to maintain strong structure and fairness we need to institute some guidelines pertaining to the actual submission of food to be judged:
Prepare UP TO THREE items from your facility. These items can be in any category. Appetizer, salad, entrée, dessert, whatever. You may submit three of any one category, or spread it out a bit by preparing one of each. Submit no more than three items total. If desired, you may just prepare one item that represents your facility.
Prepare a 3” X 5” index card for EACH plate submitted. Name and describe your submission on this card. Tell me a little about the dish if you like. DO NOT indicate who you are, or what facility you represent anywhere on the card. This is an anonymous competition. If you submit three dishes, send back three index cards, one for each item. If you are assigned a contestant number by the TOT staff, you may indicate that number on each card you submit. This is an anonymous competition.
This year I would like to see a representative of each facility present at the stage when I announce the winners. Keep an ear out for announcements.
There is no need to submit basic side-salads in the competition. We know you all are able to chop lettuce. If you submit a salad, make it one of your showcase entrée salads.
YOU be responsible for dressing salads, saucing plates, and garnishing dishes. If you send back an entrée salad, put your favorite dressing on it for me! If you typically serve a sauce in a ramekin, then do so for the judging, that is fine. Otherwise, please sauce-up your dishes exactly as you would if serving to a guest in your establishment.
Do not submit platters of food. Please individually plate items. We only need ONE plate of each item submitted.
Be careful not to use any equipment or vessel that identifies your facility. In fairness, if you identify yourself, I must disqualify your entry. If you are issued a number, please indicate that number wherever you want.
Please use foodservice gloves when preparing and plating your dishes.
Please ensure that any pork or poultry item is brought to 160 degrees or higher during initial preparation.
I will have my own silverware; please don’t send any back to me. If you submit Asian dishes that are typically consumed with chopsticks, please send those back to me.
Do not submit alcoholic beverages of any kind whatsoever.
Please note that this document is an addendum to any and all guideline documents you receive from the TOT organizers. They will structure all issues pertaining to your booth and the days activities.
Most of all, have fun. Represent yourselves well in the community. I look forward to tasting all your wonderful cuisine!
Bobby Lerz
President & Executive Chef, Hospitality Innovations, Inc.
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