2016 Feast Fest Exhibitional Schedule Released; Jumps to Eleven Exhibitions; Pasik's Restaurant Still On

-Marina del Rey, Calif.
-Feast Fest late Wednesday released its 2016 schedule of exhibitions to precede Feast Fest XXII in Marina del Rey, Calif., from Nov. 23-27, 2016, with the actual event taking place on Thanksgiving Day, Thurs., Nov. 24, 2016.

The 2016 offseason will suddenly be a much busier one for Feast Fest chefs, as it will jump from having nine exhibitions to eleven, the highest number ever, in order to accommodate a growing number of venues jockeying for the prestige of holding one of the event's exhibitions.

We already knew before this full schedule was released Wednesday that the Edelyn Cooking Arena in Punta Gorda, Fla., which has played host to more Feast Fest exhibitions--16 in all--than any other venue, would again host two exhibitions in 2016, one on February 13 and another on November 13, a mere eleven days prior to Feast Fest.

Other highlights include the continuation of a season-opening exhibition at The Dining Room in Yosemite Village, Calif., and the increased presence of Assistant Head Sous-Chef Joe Pasik's European restaurant Nø in Boston's Back Bay on the exhibition schedule, in spite of loudly whispered rumors here in the week following Feast Fest that Pasik may be planning to retire from the event after twelve years, which has left many wondering if Pasik's 67-point performance last Thursday is the last Feast Fest will have seen of him.  Neither Pasik nor Feast Fest officials commented on the continued existence of Nø on the exhibition schedule.  Should Pasik retire, the Nø exhibition would be the first ever at the restaurant of a former Feast Fest chefs.

In all, four Feast Fest chefs, Pasik included, pledged Wednesday to rent their restaurants out for 2016 offseason exhibitions.  Lynn Avi's Lower Manhattan restaurant LaLa, which has hosted four exhibitions, will be taking a break from the exhibition circuit this year; but, on the flip side, Lisa Choi's Dallas eatery Nana will receive its first ever Feast Fest exhibition.  Jim McAllister's Long Beach bistro Notes also remains on the exhibition schedule, as does an exhibition in Japan; an exhibition held in Switzerland last year, however, has been scrapped in favor of another exhibition Stateside.

The schedule in full:

#	Day	Date	Location	Time (local/ET/PT)	Notes
1	Sun.	Jan. 10	The Dining Room, Yosemite Village, CA	3:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. ET	Chefs Holidays
2	Sat.	Feb. 13	Edelyn Cooking Arena, Punta Gorda, FL	5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT
3	Wed.	Mar. 9	Kitchen Stadium U.S., New York, NY	6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT
4	Sat.	Apr. 16	Notes, Long Beach, CA	6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET	Jim McAllister
5	Thu.	Jun. 30	Nø, Boston, MA	5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT	Joe Pasik
6	Sat.	Jul. 16	Dockside Restaurant, York Beach, ME	5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT	Venue’s first exhibition
7	Sat.	Aug. 6	Kitchen Stadium, Tokyo, JP	7 p.m. JST / 2 a.m. PT /  5 a.m. ET
8	Sat.	Sept. 10	Nana, Dallas, TX	6 p.m. CT / 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT	Lisa Choi
9	Sat.	Oct. 22	Windows on the Water, Morro Bay, CA	7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET
10	Tue.	Nov. 8	Laoa, Washington, DC	7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT	Jon Chu
11	Sun.	Nov. 13	Edelyn Cooking Arena, Punta Gorda, FL	1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT

    

Feast Fest Releases Edelyn Cooking Arena Exhibition Dates Through 2019

- Marina del Rey, Calif.
- In post-Feast Fest meetings here Monday, the Executive Board of Feast Fest released exhibitional schedules for the Edelyn Cooking Arena in Punta Gorda, Fla., a perennial Feast Fest exhibition favorite, through the 2019 offseason. Feast Fest chefs have convened at Edelyn for more offseason exhibitions than any other venue.

The schedule includes Edelyn receiving its first three-exhibition offseason in 2018.

Feast Fest will convene at Edelyn Cooking Arena in Punta Gorda, Fla., on the following dates:

Sat., Feb. 13, 2016 - 5 p.m. ET

Sun., Nov. 13, 2016 - 1 p.m. ET

Wed., Jan. 18, 2017 - 7 p.m. ET

Tue., Oct. 31, 2017 - 7 p.m. ET

Thu., Feb. 1, 2018 - 6:30 p.m. ET

Sun., Sept. 30, 2018 - 3 p.m. ET

Sun., Nov. 11, 2018 - 12:30 p.m. ET

Wed., Jan. 23, 2019 - 7 p.m. ET

Wed., May 8, 2019 - 7 p.m. ET

Sun., Nov. 17, 2019 - 1 p.m. ET

In 2016, 2018, and 2019, an Edelyn exhibition will be essentially linked to the ten-day preparation and practice session that precedes Feast Fest. Chefs will convene at Edelyn in this years one mere day before flying out to California to begin pre-Feast Fest deliberations, which typically start the Monday of the week prior to Feast Fest.

FF Wire Service

NEW update

4:41 At the corner of Alla and Mindinao

I'm gonna keep walking some but since it's getting dark it'll just be in and right around our complex

FF Wire Service

NacGnissecorp visits doctor, gets medication, expects to perform "limited status" on Thursday

- Marina del Rey, Calif.
- Eric NacGnissecorp has obtained some medical help for a flare up of Tourette's disorder that should now allow him to take the FF floor, even if on a limited status, this Thanksgiving.

NacGnissecorp, the third-year chef who won the MVC as a rookie in 2013, received a doctor's consultation and medication Monday to help him through a rough patch of Tourette's, which he was diagnosed with in 2011, two years before he signed with Feast Fest.

NacGnissecorp said he was "relieved" and that he would finally participate in his first Feast Fest practice Monday night, a simple Kitchen Equipment Runthrough at 7:30 p.m. Monday night that shouldn't be too physically demanding.

NacGnissecorp, who had scratched himself from the lineup for the "Mock Dress Rehearsal" Feast Fest on Tuesday, unscratched himself Monday, but still would not confirm his participation or lack thereof.

NacGnissecorp also announced plans to perform in limited action during a Core Skills Runthrough from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesday morning.

"Right now it's all about feeling out my limits and taking things easy but still being able to be out there on the floor on Thanksgiving, even if in a limited capacity or on some sort of injury status."

NacGnissecorp's tics had been so severe over the past few weeks that they had prevented him from participating in any of the practice events at the ten-day preparation session here at the Beachview prior to Feast Fest. Chefs convened here Mon., Nov. 16.

NacGnissecorp said, though, that his tics had improved slightly over the weekend even before he received a medical consultation Monday.

FF Wire Service

Foster to Return to Mich. Restaurant Briefly

- Marina del Rey, Calif.
- Sophomore Feast Fest chef Germaine Foster was spotted leaving Marina del Rey and the Beachview Resort temporarily Saturday evening, a source reported, and would not return to the ten-day preparation and practice session preceding Feast Fest until at least Monday, that source said.

Foster's head-cheffed restaurant, the Swaling Rock Inn in Isle Royale, Mich., suffered a severe kitchen fire on Friday under the guidance of one of Foster's assistant head chefs who had been tasked with manning the four-star eatery while Foster was away for Feast Fest.

A spokesperson for the Austrian, who pleasantly surprised as a rookie in 2014 by landing a sextuple flip in a practice and then going on to post 36 NCA points on Thanksgiving, said that Foster "would definitely not miss" the Mock Dress Rehearsal Feast Fest on Tuesday.

Uhaajhaiyjesen to Sit Out Core Skills Runthroughs Friday

- Marina del Rey, Calif.
- Sophomore Danish Feast Fest chef Skarlett Uhaajhaiyjesen, one of 2014's most promising rookies who is looking for yet another strong performance here in Feast Fest 2015, will reportedly sit out core skills runthroughs and practices on Friday.

A reason had not been definitively announced.  More to come.

Stephan Reportedly Agrees to 10-Year Contract

- Marina del Rey, Calif.
- Faced with the possibility of 2015 being his last Feast Fest, Assistant Head Sous-Chef Jan Stephan, the event's fifth most powerful chef, has, according to late word, signed a ten-year contract that, if confirmed, would be the longest-term contract in Feast Fest history.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed pending an official and formal announcement, but a source said that Stephan would make "more than $650,000" per year.

Stephan's current contract had been set to expire December 1, 2015.  The new contract, if confirmed, would ensure Stephan's presence at Feast Fest through Thanksgiving 2025.  Stephan would, by that time, be 47 years old and would have completed his 20th Feast Fest.  Stephan joined Feast Fest along with his brother Andruw in 2006.  The twins were originally signed jointly, but more recently have parted ways contractually.  Andruw signed in 2014 a 3-Thanksgiving, $239,801-per-year contract that expires in April 2017, after Feast Fest 2016.

NacGnissecorp's Condition for Thanksgiving Still Unknown

- Marina del Rey, Calif.
- Eric NacGnissecorp, the third-year phenom who won Most Valuable Chef at Feast Fest XVIII in 2013, only the second rookie chef ever to do so, says he is "unsure" of his status for Feast Fest come next Thursday.

NacGnissecorp was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome in 2011, two years before he joined Feast Fest. He says he has been going through "an extremely rough patch" of tics and Tourette's symptoms over the past six months, and especially over the past week.

Although he did arrive in Marina del Rey on Monday for the ten-day preparation and meeting session prior to Feast Fest, but he has yet to participate in any Core Skills Runthroughs, Mock Feast Fests, or practices.

NacGnissecorp said Thursday evening that he was hoping to obtain a neurological evaluation and perhaps some symptom-alleviating medication before Feast Fest, but said that the probability that he might not be able to participate is about "50/50."

NacGnissecorp did say that if his tics let up slightly over the course of the next few days as Feast Fest grows ever closer, he could potentially participate in the event under an "injured reserve" status, meaning that he would participate and even be eligible to still rack up NCA points, but that he would stripped of assignments requiring a large amount of strenuous movement, such as sprinting or running.

"I'm pretty sure I can take the floor and help out," NacGnissecorp. "And I'm going to want to be able to. But I might have to take things easy given the circumstances."

The last time a chef did compete in Feast Fest under injured reserve status was last year, when rookie chef Adam McNeese competed by contributing lower-level tasks to the event after having suffered a serious leg injury during a Core Skills Runthrough.

FF Wire Service

NEW update

4:25 Walking south, away from Washington St back toward original loop

FF Wire Service

Dall, Ayeiy Plan Late Scouting Trip to Patch Up Outlying 2015 Contracts, Search for 2016 Talent

-Marina del Rey, Calif.
-Head Scouter Jim Dall and Executive Assistant Arthur Ayeiy announced plans Sunday for a twelve-day scouting trip beginning Wednesday that will see the pair visiting twenty-five chefs in twenty-two cities, in some cases to resolve outlying contract extensions and to scout for some new talent for 2016, as well.

One of the primary goals of the trip will be a visit to Raleigh, N.C., in order to settle contract negotiations for Andruw Stephan, whose contract expired two weeks ago. Stephan will not be eligible for Feast Fest 2015 on Nov. 26 until the contract matter is settled.

Dall and Ayeiy will also be visiting the Vermont home of three-year FF chef Tony Ruscoso, who, like Stephan, is pending a contract extension in order to be able to participate come Thanksgiving.

FF Wire Service

Avi: "The Vets Have To Be Stepping Up and We Haven't Lately"

- Marina del Rey, Calif.

- Feast Fest Head Sous-Chef and nine-year veteran Lynn Avi said in an interview with Competitive Cooking Magazine that she believes that the domination of low-level rookie chefs recently points to a downturn among performance of chefs in Feast Fest's upper echelons.  

It was leaked on Saturday that the upcoming October 8 issue of CCM will feature an interview with Avi, and a segment from that interview was also released.

It was not known what question Avi was answering in this excerpt:

"We have to be better.  It's just that simple.  We have to be better.  The vets, myself and the Duo and Jimmy and the Stephans and Joe and Lisa, we've had some career-worst years here in 2013 and 2014, and not one of us has yet cradled an MVC in this current exhibitional season.  We're just doing downright atrociously.  The lower-level chefs have been shining and getting all of the big points, but it won't lead to a good collective effort unless there is undisputed and decisive leadership setting an example from the top.  The vets have to be stepping up and we haven't lately.  We haven't just been doing that lately.  There comes a time when you sort of have to sit back and examine, you know, what good is the depth doing well if it doesn't contribute to an advanced product overall?  There was a reason that [rookie Eric] NacGnissecorp won the MVC in 2013, there was a reason that [sophomore Ursula] Elfman won it in '14.  We didn't step up and lead from the top.  And if we let this continue then what's gonna happen is that some other new chef with the stars in his or her eyes is gonna get the MVC and more power to them, honestly, but all that will happen really from an organizational standpoint is that we'll end up with another failure to top 99 and the product that Feast Fest is is going to begin to stagnate a little bit here if we don't crank out a 99 or up score this Thanksgiving."

The excerpt is sure to generate some controversy, as it seemed that Avi was insinuating that the rise of prominent rookie and sophomore chefs, such as NacGnissecorp, Elfman, Adam McNeese, and Skarlett Uhaajhaiyjesen, in recent years, is somehow causal when it comes to a string of subpar overall NCA ratings in the last four years.  Feast Fest peaked at 99.0 in 2011 and hasn't matched or exceeded that score since.

FF Wire Service