"Inaugural" Taste of Derby?

[Robin Garr]

Dare to Care Food Bank Taste of Derby is celebrating 23 years

Caroline, thanks for being understanding. I'm not picking on you, it's just that since someone decided it would be a good idea to have two events with very similar names, I'm trying to clarify which is which. The way it is stated on the Dare to Care news release you quoted is not right. It should say "Dare to Care Food Bank Taste of Derby Festival is celebrating 23 years."

The Taste of Derby Festival is the long standing one with local chefs at Slugger Field on April 22.

The Taste of Derby is the new one with national and two local chefs at Churchill Downs on April 29.

Confusing? Yes! But don't blame me, I'm just the messenger. But if Dare to Care is referring to the April 22 event as "Taste of Derby," they've made an error and probably ought to be advised to correct it.

[Robin Garr]

Robin that just looks confusing..

Looks confusing because it IS confusing, Alan.

But don't blame me! I didn't do it, I'm just reporting it. And doing my best to spell out the difference because it looks like we're going to have to live with it.

I'm with Will Crawford on this: I see no point in bashing Yum or Churchill Downs, although I would like to see whoever came up with the name called on the carpet. The bottom line is that both events will deliver money to Dare to Care, a fine local cause; and frankly, the new event (Taste of Derby on April 29) will get the city national publicity that the Taste of Derby Festival on April 22 will not. Those chefs are well-known on the national scene, and if you'll check the ticket prices, the organizers aren't really looking for a crowd like most of us.

hey all'
hoping to clear the air. the taste of the derby festival is april 22, 5:30_8:30 at slugger field. the cost is still $75.00 and ALL of the proceeds go to dare to care food bank. haven't had time to read all of the posts, bur our event has only been changed from it's traditional tuesday night to thursday because availibility at sluuger field.
again, our events feature local restaurants and 100% of the proceedes go to care. dare to care distribute over 12 million pounds of food per year, has 30 agencies distributing food in the louisville region and runs 17 kids cafes, where kids are guarnteed to get 2 to 3 nutritious meals a week. there is also a backpack buddy program that sends nutritious food home for the kids to eat over the weekend,
all of this is done while running an administrative cost of less than 6%.
dare to care is a great orgaanization doing fantastic work in our community, the organization is filed with an incredibly dedicated staff and a board of directors that represent every facet of the community.
if anyone wants to see the great work that d.t.c. does, i would be glad to meet you out there for a tour, or arrange one for you!!!
best to you all, andrew

Thanks Andrew!!!

Thanks all for clarifying this. I'm sure both events will be great. I will be at the Slugger Field event again this year pouring our locally crafted ales. See you there.

This just in from Business First:

http://louisville.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2010/03/01/daily30.html?ed=2010-03-03&ana=e_du_pub

Congrats to Anthony and Aaron for being selected as our local Chefs for the new event!.

Deb

[Robin Garr]

This just in from Business First:

Congrats to Anthony and Aaron for being selected as our local Chefs for the new event!

Congrats indeed! Here is the full news release:

SEVICHE’S LAMAS AND THE OAKROOM’S STORDEUR CHOSEN TO
REPRESENT LOUISVILLE AT INAUGURAL TASTE OF DERBY APRIL 29

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Wednesday, March 3, 2010) – Chefs Anthony Lamas of Seviche and Aaron Stordeur of The Oakroom at the Seelbach Hilton Hotel have been chosen by a panel of judges to represent Churchill Downs and the city of Louisville at the inaugural Taste of Derby™ presented by Yum! Brands on Thursday, April 29.

Churchill Downs’ inaugural Taste of Derby will kick-start Kentucky Derby weekend for local culinary enthusiasts and out-of-town visitors with an evening of entertainment and some of the finest cuisine prepared by nationally known chefs and restaurants from popular horse racing destinations around the country.

The premier chefs, representing a major racetrack and its respective culinary region, include:

James Beard Award winner Michelle Bernstein of Miami’s modern bistro Michy’s (Calder Casino & Race Course);
Levy Restaurants’ executive chef Jo-Jo Doyle (Churchill Downs)
Stephen Lewandowski of Manhattan’s landmark restaurant Tribeca Grill (Belmont Park);
James Beard Award nominee Nancy Longo of Maryland’s Pierpoint Restaurant (Pimlico Race Course);
Tory McPhail of New Orleans’ famous Commander’s Palace (Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots);
James Beard Award “Best Chef” nominee Ouita Michel of Midway, Ky.’s historic Holly Hill Inn (Keeneland);
James Beard Award winner Carrie Nahabedian of Chicago’s Naha (Arlington Park);
James Beard Award nominee Kent Rathbun of Dallas’ Abacus (Lone Star Park);
James Beard Award winner Nancy Silverton of Los Angeles’ La Brea Bakery and Pizzeria Mozza (Santa Anita Park); and
Alumni from Bravo’s hit television program Top Chef.

Area restaurants were invited to submit a dish they’d serve to best represent Louisville’s culinary flavors. Following a Feb. 23 tasting of the finalists’ menus with six industry expert judges, Seviche’s Lamas and The Oakroom’s Stordeur were chosen to represent the Kentucky Derby and Oaks, respectively.

Lamas, a recent James Beard Award nominee, will be serving Adobo Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Kenny’s Gouda – a blend of country ham, Weisenberger Mill grit cake, chipotle orange Woodford Reserve glaze and local pea sprouts.

“Not only am I proud to have a restaurant in Louisville, but now to be chosen to represent our region and ‘The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports’ is truly humbling,” Lamas said. “I look forward to cooking alongside some of the best chefs from across the country.”

The winning dishes by Stordeur, The Oakroom’s executive pastry chef, are tasty desserts: Pecan Petit and Smoked Bourbon Balls. The Pecan Petit is a pecan and fuilletine crust with a rich layer of dark chocolate infused with golden caramel and a mirror glaze of grand cru dark chocolate. It’s accented with toasted meringue, molasses powder and a baked gaufrette. Meanwhile, the Smoked Bourbon Balls are a 74 percent dark chocolate tempered shell filled with a semi-liquid filling of premium bourbon, sealed and sprinkled lightly with authentic bourbon barrel smoked salt.

“I am greatly honored to be chosen as a representative for Kentucky Oaks 136, and am very excited to work with a group of professionals who are so dedicated and accomplished in their crafts,” Stordeur said.

Taste of Derby, also featuring live entertainment and a charitable live auction, will be held on the eve of the Kentucky Oaks from 8-11:30 p.m. (with a VIP reception from 7-8 p.m.) at the Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center. (Please note the event time change: 7 p.m. VIP arrivals and 8 p.m. general admission).

Tickets are on sale at http://Tickets.ChurchillDowns.com. General admission is $250 (cocktail party attire) and will offer patrons tastings and wine pairings from each premier chef station as well as the opportunity to mix and mingle with famous horse racing personalities and celebrities. The VIP ticket package for $350 also includes admission to a special VIP reception at 7 p.m. and a commemorative gift bag. Additionally, a limited number of reserved tables of eight (8) will be sold for $4,000.

A portion of proceeds raised will benefit the Dare to Care Food Bank and the United Nations World Food Program.

For more information, please visit the event Web site at http://TasteOfDerby.com

Just a bit of clarification:


Aaron Stordeur is the Seelbach Executive Pastry Chef.
The Seelbach Executive Pastry Chef, and Oakroom Pastry Chef are two separate positions working in tandem.

While I do lean on Aaron and his staff heavily for a number of the daily products we need: his department is responsible for the breads, mignardise, etc. we use in the Oakroom. (In addition: he and his staff are entirely responsibly for the desserts featured on our Sunday brunches.)

While we do task each other for ideas, recipes and support; he is not at all responsible for the creative process/development/implementation of the Oakroom's pastry menu (aside from brunch), nor am I in that of the pastry operations/development of the Seelbach's bakeshop - hence two separate positions.

He and I both have worked long and hard on our respective pastry programs (which are almost entirely different), and are both especially proud of what they have grown over the past several years.

Because of this, I've been especially quick to correct people when the have referred to me as the "pastry chef at the Seelbach" (it's happened more times that I can remember), and as such -and in this case- quick to correct the opposite in this occasion.



That said:

I'm especially excited for Aaron, both professionally and personally regarding this opportunity to showcase his talent and to represent the Seelbach on such a global stage.

This is his time to shine... and he deserves all the credit for his work.

[Robin Garr]

Just a bit of clarification:

You may want to make that clarification to the folks at Churchill Downs, Ethan. They got it from the Seelbach, but probably slipped up in noting it down. If you need a contact name and number/email, let me know privately and I'll communicate it to you.

I was speaking with Aaron about it today, and he was just as irked as I was.

He mentioned that they called him up directly to follow-up their fact checking asked:
"so you're the Oakroom pastry chef?"
"No, I'm the Seelbach Executive Pastry Chef"
"so at the Oakroom right?"
"no, I'm the pastry chef at the hotel, the Oakroom has their own pastry chef"


We both laughed about it and basically shrugged it off.
To both of us, it sounded like they just wanted to type it as the saw fit.

But whatever... he and I both know who we and what we do.

The Original Taste of Derby Festival is still an ongoing Kentucky Derby Festival Dare to Care event.

Please see the following link. Dan Thanks for speaking highly of our event(I'm a Festival Director).
As a former food broker, I always enjoy this event. We have such a collection of talented Chefs who are always willing to donate Time, Talent and Treasure.

http://kdf.org/events-Taste-of-Derby-Festival.html