-Morro Bay
-In an incredible letdown for Feast Fest chefs, another subpar performance at Windows on the Water here in Morro Bay has manifested itself, as they will know have to go into Feast Fest with a goal of 99 or higher--having managed a measly 93.2 here at WotW.
It was a jump up from the 90.9 at Edelyn Cooking Arena in Punta Gorda, but, for the past seven years, the score at the chefs' final exhibition has fallen within 1.0 of their Feast Fest score for that year, meaning that, should that pattern hold up, the chefs would look at a score in the 94s on Thanksgiving--and they haven't let the score go that low since 2003.
Acting Head Chef Jim McAllister was numb. "I just don't know what to say. I really don't. We came in here today with the right mindset, we knew what we had to do, but we squandered it--again." WotW has typically been a house of horrors for the Feast Fest chefs; they usually average below 95 here. In 2012, they managed 94.4, and in 2011 garnered 87.4.
But it was clear that McAllister wanted to focus on not what had gone wrong but what needed to be done to make up the difference. He said that this exhibition had completely changed his outlook on FF 2013. "I'll be happy to get back up into the 98s now," he said weakly, having previously extolled the chefs' best chances ever at reaching their golden goal of 100. (The chefs had wipeout exhibitions in Boston and Tokyo in July and August, averaging scores of 98.6 and 99.4, respectively. The 99.4 mark was their highest exhibitional score ever.) "We don't know why we're slipping late in the offseason. We're supposed to get better the closer we get to the Big Day. I can't speak for what might be going on here."
The turkey score was a fair 95.1, so it wasn't dried birds that doomed this exhibition (though they were noted to be slightly parched). Rather, vegetables seemed, mysteriously, to all garner low scores. Peas had 91.0, green beans 88.3, and sweet potatoes 91.2. Critics seemed to complain that they were stale and limp; one critic wrote that the green beans were "devoid of freshness and the cool snap needed to indicate said freshness." All three of the aforementioned vegetables were provided by Feast Fest's official culinary provider for crops, L.A. Wild. It wasn't the first time L.A. Wild had troubled peas, however. In Feast Fest 2010, the peas had to be redone in the middle of the event.
Mashed potatoes was the top claimer, with a 99.2 score, but its phenomenal mark was not enough to save the overall score.
Lynn Avi had 36 points, the third most, in another somewhat tepid performance from the top chefs, though she was coming off of pregnancy.
The top claimer and subsequent MVC was D.A. Cook, with 52 points. Cook received his first MVC since a 2007 exhibition. (He has never received the honor during a full Feast Fest on Thanksgiving.) Cook said he was "thrilled" to have received the MVC, but said that "we are all going to have to work hard to salvage this lower-than-hoped-for score on Thanksgiving."
Chefs will gather in Marina del Rey on Mon., Nov. 18, for a ten-day preparation session prior to Feast Fest on Thurs., Nov. 28. "That will be extremely crucial," Lisa Choi (25 points) said.
Finishing off the leaderboard, Jim McAllister had 44 points, Jon Chu 35, Jarolde James 30, Patrick Kermell 22, Wiley Anders 22, Pete Willis 22, Ivan Peterman 20, and Lakeland Donavert 19.
FF Wire Service
-In an incredible letdown for Feast Fest chefs, another subpar performance at Windows on the Water here in Morro Bay has manifested itself, as they will know have to go into Feast Fest with a goal of 99 or higher--having managed a measly 93.2 here at WotW.
It was a jump up from the 90.9 at Edelyn Cooking Arena in Punta Gorda, but, for the past seven years, the score at the chefs' final exhibition has fallen within 1.0 of their Feast Fest score for that year, meaning that, should that pattern hold up, the chefs would look at a score in the 94s on Thanksgiving--and they haven't let the score go that low since 2003.
Acting Head Chef Jim McAllister was numb. "I just don't know what to say. I really don't. We came in here today with the right mindset, we knew what we had to do, but we squandered it--again." WotW has typically been a house of horrors for the Feast Fest chefs; they usually average below 95 here. In 2012, they managed 94.4, and in 2011 garnered 87.4.
But it was clear that McAllister wanted to focus on not what had gone wrong but what needed to be done to make up the difference. He said that this exhibition had completely changed his outlook on FF 2013. "I'll be happy to get back up into the 98s now," he said weakly, having previously extolled the chefs' best chances ever at reaching their golden goal of 100. (The chefs had wipeout exhibitions in Boston and Tokyo in July and August, averaging scores of 98.6 and 99.4, respectively. The 99.4 mark was their highest exhibitional score ever.) "We don't know why we're slipping late in the offseason. We're supposed to get better the closer we get to the Big Day. I can't speak for what might be going on here."
The turkey score was a fair 95.1, so it wasn't dried birds that doomed this exhibition (though they were noted to be slightly parched). Rather, vegetables seemed, mysteriously, to all garner low scores. Peas had 91.0, green beans 88.3, and sweet potatoes 91.2. Critics seemed to complain that they were stale and limp; one critic wrote that the green beans were "devoid of freshness and the cool snap needed to indicate said freshness." All three of the aforementioned vegetables were provided by Feast Fest's official culinary provider for crops, L.A. Wild. It wasn't the first time L.A. Wild had troubled peas, however. In Feast Fest 2010, the peas had to be redone in the middle of the event.
Mashed potatoes was the top claimer, with a 99.2 score, but its phenomenal mark was not enough to save the overall score.
Lynn Avi had 36 points, the third most, in another somewhat tepid performance from the top chefs, though she was coming off of pregnancy.
The top claimer and subsequent MVC was D.A. Cook, with 52 points. Cook received his first MVC since a 2007 exhibition. (He has never received the honor during a full Feast Fest on Thanksgiving.) Cook said he was "thrilled" to have received the MVC, but said that "we are all going to have to work hard to salvage this lower-than-hoped-for score on Thanksgiving."
Chefs will gather in Marina del Rey on Mon., Nov. 18, for a ten-day preparation session prior to Feast Fest on Thurs., Nov. 28. "That will be extremely crucial," Lisa Choi (25 points) said.
Finishing off the leaderboard, Jim McAllister had 44 points, Jon Chu 35, Jarolde James 30, Patrick Kermell 22, Wiley Anders 22, Pete Willis 22, Ivan Peterman 20, and Lakeland Donavert 19.
FF Wire Service
