Virtual Culinary Competition
Posted on July 01, 2020 in Health and Wellness, In The News
July 29, 2020
Ohio Living Chefs Do More Than Talk Turkey
Senior Living Provider Partners with Butterball for Virtual Culinary Competition
Westerville, Ohio – Once each year, Ohio Living’s chefs from all over the state converge on Columbus to battle blade to blade, spoon to spoon, in a fight to determine who can craft the best overall culinary creations. This year, COVID-19 didn’t keep them from the fight – it just went virtual, with chefs competing on plate presentation.
“Our culinary professionals enjoy the art of designing beautiful plated entrees,” said John Andrews, Division Director of Culinary and Nutrition Services for Ohio Living. “Now that take-out is customary due to the pandemic, our chefs and cooks have had to suppress some of their creative drive for designing beautiful plates in favor of packing up to-go orders.”
This competition meant they didn’t have to give up their creativity cold-turkey.
Chefs from eight Ohio Living communities competed in this unique online contest sponsored by Butterball Foodservice. Chef teams at each campus received a mystery basket of approximately three Butterball items to use in three dishes. Plates were photographed and shared with judges who graded them on plate presentation.
First place was awarded to Ohio Living Breckenridge Village – Grace Woods team for dishes including Maple Glazed Donuts with Turkey Bacon, Turkey Spinach Lasagna, and Turkey Street Tacos.
Winners received cash awards and American Express gift cards from Butterball Foodservice.
“I was inspired to partner with Butterball because turkey is a great item to feature on our menus given its popularity and stability in price and availability during this time,” said Andrews. Other partners that brought this initiative to life include Key Impact food brokers and Waypoint.
The Winners:
First Place: Ohio Living Breckenridge Village – Grace Woods
Second Place (tie): Ohio Living Mount Pleasant & Breckenridge Village North
Third Place: Ohio Living Cape May
Honorable Mention: Ohio Living Rockynol
Ohio Living Cape May
Ohio Living Rockynol
Ohio Living Breckenridge Village - Gracewoods
Maple Glazed Donuts with Turkey Bacon
Turkey Street Tacos
Turkey Spinach Lasagna
Ohio Living Mount Pleasant
Ohio Living Breckenridge Village - North
Turkey Chorizo Burger
Turkey Curried Meatballs with Orzo Salad
Turkey Ropa Vieja with Rice Pilaf