Kefir on Chopped!
Dec
9Posted in [Recipes], [Television] By LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir
12/9/2011 10:56 AM
Food Network aficionados, you know the drill: On Chopped, four seasoned chefs compete for a $10,000 prize, attempting to create unforgettable meals from a basket of mystery ingredients. Last week, in an episode titled “Yakkety, Yak, Yak, Yak,” host Ted Allen challenged chefs Jill Nicolson, Nicholas Porcelli, Kate Squibb and Vinson Petrillo to create a three-course meal using the following kooky items:
Appetizer round
-wax beans
-mandarinquats
-sardines
-rice cakes
Entrée round
-mangosteens
-mustard greens
-dried shrimp
-yak strip steaks
Dessert round
-black pepper crackers
-plums
-chamomile flowers
-KEFIR!
That’s right, tucked inside both chefs’ picnic basket of surprises – by this point, Nicolson and Porcelli had been eliminated, leaving only Squibb and Petrillo – was a tall bottle of kefir, which the chefs and judgesall pronounced “keh-FEER.” (As is commonly done outside the United States.)
Allen asked the judges, “What IS kefir?” and judge Geoffrey Zakarian explained its liquid yogurt consistency, adding that, as a native Armenian, cool kefir is “dear to me.”
With 30 short minutes on the clock for the final dessert round, Squibb went the exotic route, using pakora flour to whip up a batter for her Chamomile and Kefir Pakora. She then brewed and reduced chamomile tea with sugar to create a Chamomile and Plum Reduction, topping the finished product with fresh raspberries and dusting it with powdered sugar.
As for Petrillo, he narrated, “I taste the kefir and it tastes like yogurt. It’s delicious! I know that sugar and water will bring out the flavor of the chamomile flowers,” so he made Chamomile and Kefir Custard with Vanilla French Toast and Caramelized Plums.
(Can you hear our stomachs rumbling?!)
The judges were huge fans of both kefir concoctions. The loved Squibb’s dessert simply because it’s fried – how bad can it be, really? – and their main critique was they only wish there was more of it to eat.
As for Petrillo’s masterpiece, the judges deemed it playful yet sophisticated, although they felt the balsamic vinegar he used was a bit too acidic.
So, whose kefir-inspired dish was on the final chopping block? Unfortunately, Squibb was the one to hear those dreaded words out of Tim Allen’s mouth: “Chef Kate, you have been Chopped.” The judges felt Petrillo had delivered “near perfection” in the prior two rounds, nabbing them the coveted $10,000 prize and the title of Chopped Champion.
Hey Chef Petrillo, did you know $10K can buy you about 3,333 bottles of Lifeway kefir? Hit us up at your local Whole Foods – we’d love to see ourselves featured in some of the other delicious recipes on your menu at Caviar Russe in NYC. And PS: We’re Russian, too!
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