-Marina del Rey, Ca.
-Adam McNeese was signed to a $143,363 one-year contract to replace Hillary Wilkin in a de facto trade between Feast Fest and the New York City Thanksgiving Contest (NYCTC).
After Wilkin unexpectedly opted out of her Feast Fest contract to become the Head Chef of the NYCTC, which is rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with for Feast Fest with a 2012 NCA rating of 94.9, it's highest yet, the NYCTC "felt the next to extend an olive branch" to Feast Fest by giving the event McNeese, explained NYCTC Scouting Head Garrett LeVue. "Feast Fest did not demand a replacement for Wilkin, we thought that this was the right thing to do and McNeese had been wanting to work his way up to Feast Fest, so we let him opt-out of his contract and urged Feast Fest to give him a trial," LeVue said.
Still, it does appear that the NYCTC got the better end of the deal, as Wilkin had quickly been moving up the ranks within FF, and she was slated to move up to the third line of power by FF 2015 under her old contract. This position is reinforced by the rather unenthusiastic and begrudging terms on which Head Scouter Jim Dall and his team signed McNeese, presenting him with the lowest contract offer of the offseason and relegating him to the bottom line of power. Still, the Kenduskeag, Me.-raised, Camden, Me.-based McNeese was more than happy to sign on with the event, and the salary wasn't an issue; he made $71,346 with the NYCTC in 2012, less than half of what he'll make with FF.
"As a young budding chef, Feast Fest has been my dream for years," the 27-year-old McNeese said. "I realize that because I'm replacing a higher-ranked chef who left without much warning that some may greet me with skepticism, but I hope to be welcomed warmly by the FF team, which I hear is tremendously accommodating."
Dall said the deal had been conducted over the phone. McNeese already has been rostered for the Aug. 31 Kitchen Stadium Tokyo exhibition, just over two weeks away. "Oh, I'm so looking forward to that," McNeese said. "Never even been to Asia and now I get a comped trip!" he joked. McNeese had a total of 131 NCA points across three NYCTC Thanksgivings, in 2010, 2011, and 2012.
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