Choi Wins NCA's Most Fiery (With a Pan)

-New York
-Lisa Choi has become a seven-time winner of the NCA's Most Fiery (With a Pan) Chef Award after capturing the 2011 installment, it was announced very late Wednesday/very early Thursday.

Choi, who generally stands with Lynn Avi as one of the main "flare-ish" chefs, has won before in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2010. Colleague Avi won the award in 2006 and 2008, and came in second in this year's vote.

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Dumas Wins Third NCA Best Latin Influence Award of Career

-New York
-The NCA announced early Thursday that Feast Fest chef Peter Dumas has won the NCA's 2011 Chef with the Best Latin Influence Award, the third time in his career he has won the honor.

Dumas won in 2001 and 2009, and fellow Feast Fest chefs Ivan Peterman and Jarólde Jámes have won the award in 2010 and 2007, respectively (Jámes won before joining Feast Fest).

Dumas's heritage is mixed British-Spanish, and he has been recognized as one of the world's premier chefs of Latin cuisines.

Fellow FF chef Ivan Peterman lost the award by 0.23% of the vote.




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Looking Ahead: Two Feast Fests could bring twice the revenue, but is it logistically possible?

-Marina del Rey, Ca.
-In the latest in a series of moves being discussed that could dramatically expand and rearrange the infrastructure of Feast Fest in the relatively near future, it was announced by FF Executive Official Shalana-dena Mirorando that one of many possible expansions to be discussed in the 2011-2012 offseason will be that considering the possibilities of adding a second Thanksgiving Dinner to Feast Fest.

Such a move would greatly increase ticket and peripheral revenues as the amount of possible attendees could increase from 2,000 to 4,000.

Under such an arrangement, Mirorando explained, the event would still be given one score and one Most Valuable Chef, but chefs would prepare two sets of Thanksgiving dinners. The first would have the Official Cooking Portion beginning at 8 a.m. and would set DigIn at 3 p.m., and the second would begin at 4:30 p.m. and set dinner at 11 p.m., with NCA ratings and MVC announcements coming at Midnight.

However, such an arrangement clearly has its drawbacks. It would hurt TV ratings in the East Coast market, where even diehard viewers would be unlikely to stay up till 3 a.m. their time for the event's conclusion. It would also require potentially hiring extra chefs so that not all 61 would have to work fifteen straight hours. In addition, the prospects of eating dinner at 11 would not be very popular with half of the event's guests.

"We have logistics to work out still."



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Redesigns

Please bear with us as various redesigns are made to our Feast Fest Blogger site.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation!

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Feast Fest Events, Inc. "had full right to fire" Daved Leineken

-Los Angeles
-A suit filed for unfair dismissal by Feast Fest Scouter Daved Leineken lasted only four hours Monday, as it was ruled that Leineken had violated the terms of his contract by bribing Brianna Galen-Ames and that Feast Fest Events, Inc. "had [the] full right to fire [him]."

Leineken claimed that the money he had on his person when he visited Galen-Ames's home on July 6 should have fallen under the category of IME: internegotiational monetary exchanges," which would be legal via the FF bylaws and not be grounds for firing.

It was pointed out, however, that Feast Fest bylaws state that if a visit to a potential chef is made but no negotiations take place, the money on the scouter's person is uncategorized and could "be interpreted as bribery."

Since Leineken was turned away at the door by Galen-Ames, no negotiations took place and thus the purpose of the money Leineken took with him could be categorized as for bribery. Thus, Leineken's October firing from the Feast Fest Scouting Department was legal.

"We knew Leineken's chances were very slight, and we are glad to put this matter behind us and continue on with the hardworking and loyal scouters that we still have with," Jim Dall, head of the Scouting Dept., said midday Monday.




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Leineken to challenge FF in suit

-Marina del Rey, Ca.
-Daved Leineken will challenge Feast Fest Events, Inc. in the lawbooks starting Monday and extending throughout the upcoming week, but he "has a very low chance of winning," analysts say.

Leineken will try to prove he did not bribe Brianna Galen-Ames in an attempt to get her to rejoin Feast Fest this past August, an action which result in Leineken's firing as a Feast Fest scouter. He is accusing FF of unfair dismissal.

However, the evidence is starkly stacked against him, experts say. "Galen-Ames has said repeatedly that she was bribed by Leineken," says Executive Official Arthur Ayeiy, "but we have hired an organization to administer a polygraph test just to ensure the validity of that statement. We believe her, but we need to be certain."

Leineken has made direct allusions to visiting the Galen-Ames home "with tender available," but he believe that the FF contract states a "bribe" must be accepted by a recipient in order to result in firing. Galen-Ames, Leineken insists, did not accept "even a penny of cash from my person or any friends of mine."

Leineken also wishes to rally for his belief that even if the money had been accepted by Galen-Ames it would fall under the category of "internegotiational monetary exchanges," which FF considers legal and which does not result in firing.

But, "we do not know how Leineken intends to make a case that the money he possessed was for a purpose that will fall into the legal IME category instead of the illegal bribery category," Ayeiy says.

Leineken has a right to file an unfair dismissal suit, but with the weight stacked against him the proceedings could last "only a day," but all five days of this upcoming week have been set aside should they be needed.






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NCA's "Best Brayton Hill Alumnus" Goes to Dreim

-New York
-FF chef Steven Dreim has won the NCA's award for Best Brayton Hill Alumnus, it was said very late Sunday.

Dreim attended Brayton Hill Univ. just outside Cincinnati, Oh., and the college is notable for producing "most notable chefs who hail from the American midwest."

Popularly, FF and Brayton Hill are usually connected by FF Assistant Head Sous-Chef Joe Pasik, but he had won the award five years in a row, from 2006 to 2010, disqualifying him from nomination. He can be nominated again in 2012.

"Dreim is a great chef and I am ecstatic he won the Brayton Hill award this year," Pasik said. "His connections to that hallowed college need acknowledgment, and I'm so glad he's gotten that."

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