Well the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Battle of Hors D’Oeuvres was great fun and a fantastic night. I sat next to Anthony Sedlak of Food Network’s The Main….and loved every minute of it!
Aside from me staring at Anthony Sedlak all night, the Battle went off without a hitch and guests were treated to nine hors d’oeuvres and numerous wines from local wineries including Mastronardi, Pelee Island, Black Bear Farms and Sprucewood Shores Estates.
As each hors d’oeuvre was presented, we all had the chance to taste, judge and critique what was plated in front of us. Based on taste, creativity/originality, presentation and use of ingredients, we then gave each entry a score out of 100.
There were three categories. Best Restaurant which included Caldwell’s Grant, Per Bacco, Foia, Seasons Bistro. Best Hospitality included the University of Windsor and Caesars Windsor. Best High School was made up of Century High School, Assumption and Holy Names.
The Critics Panel consisted of Anthony Sedlak of Food Network’s The Main, Chef Dan Beaulieu of Kingsville Golf, Chef Ahron Goldman of the Culinary Guild, Ted Whipp of the Windsor Star and myself.
The winners were (insert drum roll here):
Critic’s Choice Awards
Best Restaurant Hors D’Oeuvre – Caldwell Grants
Best Hospitality Hors D’Oeuvre – Caesars Windsor
Best High School Hors D’Oeuvre – Century High School
People’s Choice Awards
Best Restaurant Hors D’Oeuvre – Per Bacco
Best Hospitality Hors D’Oeuvre – University of Windsor
Best High School Hors D’Oeuvre – Century High School
What is always most interesting to me is the difference in what the critic’s panel chooses and what the audience chooses. But it looks like everyone was in agreement of who the Best High School was. Let me tell you, though, that each high school in that category did an outstanding job and if they are any indication of the talent we are going to see in the culinary industry’s future, then I’m excited!
Thank you to Owen of Windsor Visuals for the photos. And of course, thank you to everyone who participated in our live Twitter session with Anthony Sedlak! It was a great success and we’re definitely going to do more of these in the future.
