Over one hundred guests gathered for the first annual Global Top Chef presented by the Peoria Area World Affairs Council on October 22nd.
Two teams of chefs from Eurest Dining, a division of Compass USA, battled it out in the cooking competition with a menu inspired by Peoria’s sister cities - Friedrichshafen, Germany, Benxi, China, Clonmel, Ireland, and Aytou (Itoo), Lebanon.
The winning team, the Grateful Red, won the evening with their courses of Guinness Carrot Soup, Potato Soup, Spinach Leek Soup, Shepard's Pie with Irish Soda Bread, Dark Chocolate Guinness Mousse with a White Chocolate Chantilly Cream. Putting Grateful Red over the top was Chef Brandon’s German-inspired signature cocktail “Victory in a Glass”.
Taking home the trophy of Global Top Chef was Tanner P with his appetizer, Irish Potato Cake topped with horseradish crème fraiche and smoked salmon. Tanner’s teammates were Chef Brandon, Chef Josh, Chef Jeremy, & Chef Jim.
The Blue Dragons were made up by Chef Kaley, Chef Clay, Chef Tanner O, Chef Cheng Yi, Chef Jeff.
The evening was emceed by Yvonne Greer. The evening’s judges were East Peoria Mayor, John Kahl, his wife Allison, Peoria Sister Cities Commission chair, Patrick Roesler, his wife Tammie, and former PAWAC Board President, Lawrence Tangel. Our guest speaker was Tom Selinger, from the Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training.
PAWAC would like to thank volunteers from Bradley University’s Family & Consumer Sciences program and members of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.
The evening was sponsored by Caterpillar, who generously provided the facilities, Intuition Coffee & Juice, and Piston Acres. PAWAC would also like to thank the many generous donors & local businesses who donated items for the silent auction - Abraham @ Fit/Dane 309, Andrea at Volution Salon, Angela & Shawn Weck, Barrack’s Cater Inn, Bob The Barber @ J+B Studio, Brienzo’s, Candace @ Salon Jayd, Hacienda El Mirador, Jerusalem Restaurant, Jones Bros. Jewelers, Julia & Leo Ghantous, Kabab-G, Mediterranean Mart, Dr. Nizar Merhab, Peoria Chiefs, Peoria Riverfront Museum, RC Outfitters, Roba and Freddy @ Lynn’s Nails, Sarah Kashyap, Senara Med Spa, and Thanh Linh.
Proceeds from Global Top Chef will go towards Central Illinois students that attend one of PAWAC’s many global education programs.
Congratulations to the Global Top Chef committee, the Peoria Area World Affairs Council, Eurest, and everyone who made the evening truly a special one!
