-Punta Gorda, Fla.
-Feast Fest chefs took to Twitter Tuesday to express their frustrations with a 90-minute-delayed, low scoring exhibition at Edelyn Cooking Arena here in Punta Gorda.
Lynn Avi answered catcalls about her not being present, which some believed may have contributed to the lowered score: "I feel it is the responsibility of a good mother to care for my newborn in these times. Will appear at #WotW," referring to the Windows on the Water exhibition in Morro Bay, Calif., on Sunday.
Jack Stillworth's reaction: "Delays held us hostage again at #FeastFest #Edelyn exhibition. Sorry to the great supporters in #SouthFla."
Jacqueline Pierce-Mulleone vented frustrations about burned pies: "WHO LEFT THE OVENS ON TOO LONG?!? #FeastFest #badexhibition #boneheadedness"
Patrick Kermell vocally criticized NCA President Al Green for not rescheduling the exhibition: "No exhibition should have #Digin! at 1 am. @A_Green_NCA, bad decision."
Jim McAllister responded in defense of Green: "@Patrick_Kermell: @A_Green_NCA made the right decision. I needed to get back to #NotesLBCA today. #misassignedblame"
And Wiley Anders said the chefs seemed slow: "We were tired and sluggish at #Edelyn exhibition."
And Laelech Crellas attempted to be the optimist: "Cheer up, guys! We still have #WotW :)"
But perhaps the tweet that best summed up the FFers' challenges Monday night came from Daniel Mettling: "Delays = lost focus = mistakes = bad score. Simple, really. #FeastFest #Edelyn #badexhibition"
FF Wire Service
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Tuesday, October 29, 2013
90.9 at Edelyn -- Delays Again Rattle Exhibition
-Punta Gorda, Fla.
-Feast Fest's worst October performance at Edelyn Cooking Arena in eight years came on the heels of an accident on the cooking floor that delayed the start of the official cooking portion to 8:53 p.m. and led to DigIn! at an even later-than-expected 1:12 a.m. and the final score announcement of 90.9 at 1:46 a.m.
It was the first time ever since Feast Fest began visiting Edelyn twice a year that their January performance outweighed their October or November effort; their visit here on Jan. 21 garnered a 92.1 mark.
The 90.9 figure is worse than only an 88.4 mark achieved here on Nov. 2, 2005.
"We did have trouble here tonight," Acting Head Chef Jim McAllister said. "However, unlike most years, this is not our final exhibition before Thanksgiving, so we do have a chance to remedy this." In years prior, the final exhibition of the season would be held at Edelyn. This year, there is still one exhibition remaining, in Morro Bay, Ca. And McAllister's comment was appropriate--while Edelyn errors are rare, the chefs have typically fumbled the second-to-last exhibition before the Big Day, for reasons not entirely known.
But then again, maybe the chefs shouldn't feel so good about going to Morro Bay for the last exhibition, as the cooking venue there has been nothing short of a house of horrors for them. They cook in the Central California coast town this Sunday, Nov. 3.
Jim McAllister led the initial effort with 10 NCA points and a quadruple flip in the opening moments, and wound up with a personal-best-in-exhibitions 65 NCA points.
But his charges lagged behind. The second point finisher, Keith Wholehreh, sagged onto the board with a mere 29 points. Joe Pasik finished with 26, Alizone Jahswheich with 24, Lisa Choi with 21, and Jan Stephan, Andruw Stephan, and Tony Ruscoso with 20, rounding out the leaderboard.
The individual scores for the turkey suffered, as the birds became dry during the two-hour delay before the 9 p.m. start. The turkeys garnered a mark of 91.1, their lowest ever at Edelyn. The highest individual food score was a measly 96.3, for mashed potatoes. The average individual food score was 92.5. The lowest mark was for a usually nonchalant and undemanding Feast Fest food--the pie, which was rated a crushing 81.1. Not that it was unexpected, however; of 12 pies made for the event, seven--more than half--burned.
"The pies were tended to as they are normally and were not left in the ovens for a long amount of time, so we are powerless to speculate at this point as to why they would have burned through," McAllister said.
Some pointed fingers at Lynn Avi, who ruled out coming to Punta Gorda after giving birth only several days ago. But this was one of Feast Fest's classic flops, an exhibition that was headed for disaster and that would never have had its course righted.
"The delay rattled us, no doubt. And we have to get over the fact that we let delays like this one rattle us," Jan Stephan said.
Jim McAllister was awarded the MVP easily in a 10-0 vote by critics, but, really, nobody wanted to take credit for this awful excuse for an exhibition.
"Our love affair with Edelyn ended tonight," McAllister said. "We have to go into Morro on Sunday and hope we can clean things up so that we don't have a bad score hanging over our heads before Thanksgiving."
FF Wire Service
-Feast Fest's worst October performance at Edelyn Cooking Arena in eight years came on the heels of an accident on the cooking floor that delayed the start of the official cooking portion to 8:53 p.m. and led to DigIn! at an even later-than-expected 1:12 a.m. and the final score announcement of 90.9 at 1:46 a.m.
It was the first time ever since Feast Fest began visiting Edelyn twice a year that their January performance outweighed their October or November effort; their visit here on Jan. 21 garnered a 92.1 mark.
The 90.9 figure is worse than only an 88.4 mark achieved here on Nov. 2, 2005.
"We did have trouble here tonight," Acting Head Chef Jim McAllister said. "However, unlike most years, this is not our final exhibition before Thanksgiving, so we do have a chance to remedy this." In years prior, the final exhibition of the season would be held at Edelyn. This year, there is still one exhibition remaining, in Morro Bay, Ca. And McAllister's comment was appropriate--while Edelyn errors are rare, the chefs have typically fumbled the second-to-last exhibition before the Big Day, for reasons not entirely known.
But then again, maybe the chefs shouldn't feel so good about going to Morro Bay for the last exhibition, as the cooking venue there has been nothing short of a house of horrors for them. They cook in the Central California coast town this Sunday, Nov. 3.
Jim McAllister led the initial effort with 10 NCA points and a quadruple flip in the opening moments, and wound up with a personal-best-in-exhibitions 65 NCA points.
But his charges lagged behind. The second point finisher, Keith Wholehreh, sagged onto the board with a mere 29 points. Joe Pasik finished with 26, Alizone Jahswheich with 24, Lisa Choi with 21, and Jan Stephan, Andruw Stephan, and Tony Ruscoso with 20, rounding out the leaderboard.
The individual scores for the turkey suffered, as the birds became dry during the two-hour delay before the 9 p.m. start. The turkeys garnered a mark of 91.1, their lowest ever at Edelyn. The highest individual food score was a measly 96.3, for mashed potatoes. The average individual food score was 92.5. The lowest mark was for a usually nonchalant and undemanding Feast Fest food--the pie, which was rated a crushing 81.1. Not that it was unexpected, however; of 12 pies made for the event, seven--more than half--burned.
"The pies were tended to as they are normally and were not left in the ovens for a long amount of time, so we are powerless to speculate at this point as to why they would have burned through," McAllister said.
Some pointed fingers at Lynn Avi, who ruled out coming to Punta Gorda after giving birth only several days ago. But this was one of Feast Fest's classic flops, an exhibition that was headed for disaster and that would never have had its course righted.
"The delay rattled us, no doubt. And we have to get over the fact that we let delays like this one rattle us," Jan Stephan said.
Jim McAllister was awarded the MVP easily in a 10-0 vote by critics, but, really, nobody wanted to take credit for this awful excuse for an exhibition.
"Our love affair with Edelyn ended tonight," McAllister said. "We have to go into Morro on Sunday and hope we can clean things up so that we don't have a bad score hanging over our heads before Thanksgiving."
FF Wire Service
Monday, October 28, 2013
Avi Should Make WotW
-New York
-Lynn Avi told a rapidly-thinning Feast Fest chef hierarchy that she would show up for Sunday's Windows on the Water exhibition after missing Monday's due to recent pregnancy.
"I will be present for Sunday's exhibition," she tweeted Monday.
FF Wire Service
-Lynn Avi told a rapidly-thinning Feast Fest chef hierarchy that she would show up for Sunday's Windows on the Water exhibition after missing Monday's due to recent pregnancy.
"I will be present for Sunday's exhibition," she tweeted Monday.
FF Wire Service
First Bell Rings at Edelyn
-Punta Gorda, Fla.
-In an attempt to make up a 90-minute delay, the cooking start bell has rung here at Edelyn Cooking Arena at 8:53 p.m., seven minutes earlier than the rescheduled start time of 9 p.m.
Once all chefs had declared themselves ready, Acting Head Chef Jim McAllister asked that the bell be rung "immediately."
The 3 to 3 1/2-hour exhibition, in which 124 Thanksgiving-style meals will be prepared, could end as late as 12:30 a.m. local time.
McAllister satisfied the delay-ridden crowd at ECA early, with a quadruple flip and 10 NCA points racked up in the opening minutes.
Of the 124 turkey meals, 10 are expected to be consumed by attendees and critics. The other 114 will be donated to food banks and other charities.
FF Wire Service
-In an attempt to make up a 90-minute delay, the cooking start bell has rung here at Edelyn Cooking Arena at 8:53 p.m., seven minutes earlier than the rescheduled start time of 9 p.m.
Once all chefs had declared themselves ready, Acting Head Chef Jim McAllister asked that the bell be rung "immediately."
The 3 to 3 1/2-hour exhibition, in which 124 Thanksgiving-style meals will be prepared, could end as late as 12:30 a.m. local time.
McAllister satisfied the delay-ridden crowd at ECA early, with a quadruple flip and 10 NCA points racked up in the opening minutes.
Of the 124 turkey meals, 10 are expected to be consumed by attendees and critics. The other 114 will be donated to food banks and other charities.
FF Wire Service
Edelyn Exhibition About to Commence
-Punta Gorda, Fla.
-The latest Feast Fest exhibition ever will officially commence with the ringing of the official "Start" bell here at Edelyn Cooking Arena in Punta Gorda, Fla., at 9:00 p.m. EDT.
The exhibition, originally scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT, was delayed due to an injury incident wherein an NCA critic slipped and fell on the cooking surface around 6:00 p.m. EDT, causing a chain reaction which damaged several cooking stations, which needed to be hastily repaired or replaced.
"It was a freak accident," said NCA Head Al Green. Green said that the critic did not require medical attention and would continue to critique the event. The critic was not named and so could not be reached for comment.
"As we understand it, a critic of the NCA slipped and fell, at which point his foot spasmed and kicked a cooking station, damaging it, and causing that cooking station to fall over onto two other cooking stations, and mildly damaging a third."
The Feast Fest chefs, already without their full oomph due to the absence of critical chefs such as the Mason Duo and Lynn Avi, seemed disheartened and shaken up by the delay. "But we have to maintain our focus and not turn this into another 2011 Morro Bay," Head Chef Jim McAllister said, citing an incident at the 2011 Windows on the Water exhibition wherein a water main broke and flooded the cooking floor, delaying the exhibition for 24 hours. It ended at 12:30 a.m. on a Monday morning, having been scheduled to end around 11 p.m. Saturday night.
It is likely that the exhibition could see DigIn! coming as late as 12:30 a.m., and with a final score coming as late as 1:00 a.m.
"We will work harder than ever to make up the lost time," McAllister said.
Delaying the exhibition to Tuesday was briefly discussed, but then called off. "Many of the chefs are expected to be back at work at their restaurants as soon as possible, and we would not want to delay them further," Green said.
McAllister criticized the original placement of the event at 7:30 to begin with. "No reason to schedule these things so late."
FF Wire Service
-The latest Feast Fest exhibition ever will officially commence with the ringing of the official "Start" bell here at Edelyn Cooking Arena in Punta Gorda, Fla., at 9:00 p.m. EDT.
The exhibition, originally scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT, was delayed due to an injury incident wherein an NCA critic slipped and fell on the cooking surface around 6:00 p.m. EDT, causing a chain reaction which damaged several cooking stations, which needed to be hastily repaired or replaced.
"It was a freak accident," said NCA Head Al Green. Green said that the critic did not require medical attention and would continue to critique the event. The critic was not named and so could not be reached for comment.
"As we understand it, a critic of the NCA slipped and fell, at which point his foot spasmed and kicked a cooking station, damaging it, and causing that cooking station to fall over onto two other cooking stations, and mildly damaging a third."
The Feast Fest chefs, already without their full oomph due to the absence of critical chefs such as the Mason Duo and Lynn Avi, seemed disheartened and shaken up by the delay. "But we have to maintain our focus and not turn this into another 2011 Morro Bay," Head Chef Jim McAllister said, citing an incident at the 2011 Windows on the Water exhibition wherein a water main broke and flooded the cooking floor, delaying the exhibition for 24 hours. It ended at 12:30 a.m. on a Monday morning, having been scheduled to end around 11 p.m. Saturday night.
It is likely that the exhibition could see DigIn! coming as late as 12:30 a.m., and with a final score coming as late as 1:00 a.m.
"We will work harder than ever to make up the lost time," McAllister said.
Delaying the exhibition to Tuesday was briefly discussed, but then called off. "Many of the chefs are expected to be back at work at their restaurants as soon as possible, and we would not want to delay them further," Green said.
McAllister criticized the original placement of the event at 7:30 to begin with. "No reason to schedule these things so late."
FF Wire Service
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Monde Moved Up To Highest Non-Hierarchical Line of Power
-Punta Gorda, Fla.
-Rising star Aleck Monde, only in his third year with Feast Fest, will move up to the third line of power, the highest line of power that does not contain hierarchical positions. Monde started on the seventh line of power in 2011, leapfrogged to fourth in 2012, and it was announced today that at Edelyn he will take third.
FF Wire Service
-Rising star Aleck Monde, only in his third year with Feast Fest, will move up to the third line of power, the highest line of power that does not contain hierarchical positions. Monde started on the seventh line of power in 2011, leapfrogged to fourth in 2012, and it was announced today that at Edelyn he will take third.
FF Wire Service
Arrivals Begin At Edelyn
-Punta Gorda, Fla.
-The first chefs trickled in to Punta Gorda on Saturday for Monday's Edelyn Cooking Arena exhibition. The majority of chefs are expected to arrive on Sunday.
Patrick Kermell, Jacqueline Pierce-Mulleone, Jan Stephan, Wiley Anders, Ivan Peterman, Miller Miller, and late-offseason signee Mariana Echelvaran all arrived Saturday.
Monday will be Echelvaran's first ever FF exhibition. "Yes, I am nervous, but incredibly excited." Echelvaran signed with FF on the final day of the official scouting offseason on Oct. 4.
Four chefs have been prematurely scratched from the Edelyn exhibition: The Mason Duo, Lynn Avi, and Alue-Charlote Ste-Germaine Melling.
It is unknown if other late scratches could come forward. The Amsterdam-based Jawrodly Jurrjens reportedly had "delayed travel" and has yet to arrive in Punta Gorda, as he had planned to do Sunday.
A spokesperson for Jurrjens would not elaborate on why his travels had been delayed.
Following the Edelyn exhibition, the second-to-last exhibition before Feast Fest, the final of the exhibitional season will take place in Morro Bay, Calif., on Sun., Nov. 3, only eight days later.
FF Wire Service
-The first chefs trickled in to Punta Gorda on Saturday for Monday's Edelyn Cooking Arena exhibition. The majority of chefs are expected to arrive on Sunday.
Patrick Kermell, Jacqueline Pierce-Mulleone, Jan Stephan, Wiley Anders, Ivan Peterman, Miller Miller, and late-offseason signee Mariana Echelvaran all arrived Saturday.
Monday will be Echelvaran's first ever FF exhibition. "Yes, I am nervous, but incredibly excited." Echelvaran signed with FF on the final day of the official scouting offseason on Oct. 4.
Four chefs have been prematurely scratched from the Edelyn exhibition: The Mason Duo, Lynn Avi, and Alue-Charlote Ste-Germaine Melling.
It is unknown if other late scratches could come forward. The Amsterdam-based Jawrodly Jurrjens reportedly had "delayed travel" and has yet to arrive in Punta Gorda, as he had planned to do Sunday.
A spokesperson for Jurrjens would not elaborate on why his travels had been delayed.
Following the Edelyn exhibition, the second-to-last exhibition before Feast Fest, the final of the exhibitional season will take place in Morro Bay, Calif., on Sun., Nov. 3, only eight days later.
FF Wire Service
Friday, October 25, 2013
Fredriks is NCA Critic, Will Critique Feast Fest
-New York
-"Thrilled" was the terminology employed by former FF chef William Fredriks as the European master is now an NCA critic, and will return to his Feast Fest roots to critique the event.
"It will be a different experience, being on the opposite side [of the critics' table], and I'll have to make sure that favoritism [doesn't] get in the way. But I will be so happy to reconnect with those at Feast Fest."
A 1999 signee to Feast Fest, Fredriks stayed on with the event until 2011, when he announced he'd be retiring due to increased responsibilities at his restaurant and a wife struggling with cancer.
-"Thrilled" was the terminology employed by former FF chef William Fredriks as the European master is now an NCA critic, and will return to his Feast Fest roots to critique the event.
"It will be a different experience, being on the opposite side [of the critics' table], and I'll have to make sure that favoritism [doesn't] get in the way. But I will be so happy to reconnect with those at Feast Fest."
A 1999 signee to Feast Fest, Fredriks stayed on with the event until 2011, when he announced he'd be retiring due to increased responsibilities at his restaurant and a wife struggling with cancer.
Mason Duo Will Also Miss Edelyn Exhibition
-Marina del Rey, Ca.
-Hours after Lynn Avi announced that she would miss the second-to-last exhibition of the year before Feast Fest, at Edelyn Cooking Arena in Punta Gorda, Fla., the Mason Duo of chefs also announced their absence from the exhibition as well.
This was less of a surprise; the Duo has typically missed exhibitions at Edelyn. They cited prior commitments as the reason for the absence. It was said that they should head the efforts at the Windows on the Water exhibition in Morro Bay, Calif., on Sun., Nov. 3, the final exhibition before the big day on Nov. 28.
With a significant power vacuum created with the absences of both the Mason Duo and Avi, Jim McAllister will take on the role of sole Head Chef, with Joe Pasik as Head Sous-Chef, Jan Stephan as Primary Assistant Head Sous-Chef, and Lisa Choi as Secondary Assistant Head Sous-Chef.
-Hours after Lynn Avi announced that she would miss the second-to-last exhibition of the year before Feast Fest, at Edelyn Cooking Arena in Punta Gorda, Fla., the Mason Duo of chefs also announced their absence from the exhibition as well.
This was less of a surprise; the Duo has typically missed exhibitions at Edelyn. They cited prior commitments as the reason for the absence. It was said that they should head the efforts at the Windows on the Water exhibition in Morro Bay, Calif., on Sun., Nov. 3, the final exhibition before the big day on Nov. 28.
With a significant power vacuum created with the absences of both the Mason Duo and Avi, Jim McAllister will take on the role of sole Head Chef, with Joe Pasik as Head Sous-Chef, Jan Stephan as Primary Assistant Head Sous-Chef, and Lisa Choi as Secondary Assistant Head Sous-Chef.
Avi To Be Scratched From Edelyn, Possibly WotW
-New York
-Head Sous-Chef Lynn Avi will be scratched from the Edelyn Cooking Arena Exhibition in Punta Gorda, Fla., on Monday, having given birth to her second son and third child in New York City on Thursday. The question is whether or not the birth, which came late and was originally slated for Oct. 19, will also impact her appearance at the final exhibition before Feast Fest, at Windows on the Water in Morro Bay on Sun., Nov. 3.
A statement from Avi's spokesperson read Friday: "Ms. Avi is obviously aware of the importance of these two final exhibitions to a successful Feast Fest, and she will make every effort to appear in Morro Bay on Nov. 3. However, until the physical condition of both Ms. Avi and her infant have been positively identified and cleared, a decision regarding Morro Bay has not been made at this time. What we do know is that it would be asking too much of Ms. Avi to expect her to perform at Edelyn on Sunday, three days removed from a birth."
The spokesperson said that "what is most important is that Avi appear at Feast Fest itself, and at this time there are no foreseeable impediments to that." Feast Fest is on Nov. 28, leaving about a month of time for Avi to recover from the birth if she skips both exhibitions.
Avi tweeted Friday morning, "My focus is on #FeastFest and will continue to be, but if I can't make #wotw everyone I hope will understand."
-Head Sous-Chef Lynn Avi will be scratched from the Edelyn Cooking Arena Exhibition in Punta Gorda, Fla., on Monday, having given birth to her second son and third child in New York City on Thursday. The question is whether or not the birth, which came late and was originally slated for Oct. 19, will also impact her appearance at the final exhibition before Feast Fest, at Windows on the Water in Morro Bay on Sun., Nov. 3.
A statement from Avi's spokesperson read Friday: "Ms. Avi is obviously aware of the importance of these two final exhibitions to a successful Feast Fest, and she will make every effort to appear in Morro Bay on Nov. 3. However, until the physical condition of both Ms. Avi and her infant have been positively identified and cleared, a decision regarding Morro Bay has not been made at this time. What we do know is that it would be asking too much of Ms. Avi to expect her to perform at Edelyn on Sunday, three days removed from a birth."
The spokesperson said that "what is most important is that Avi appear at Feast Fest itself, and at this time there are no foreseeable impediments to that." Feast Fest is on Nov. 28, leaving about a month of time for Avi to recover from the birth if she skips both exhibitions.
Avi tweeted Friday morning, "My focus is on #FeastFest and will continue to be, but if I can't make #wotw everyone I hope will understand."