Final List for WotW Released

-Morro Bay, Ca.
-The final list has been released for the exhibition here in Morro Bay, which will be starting in about one hour.

The Mason Duo will not be participating, as previously announced, and we now know the names of seven other chefs left out for personal needs, prior commitments, or other reasons:

Pasik
Chu
Wholehreh
J. Rousswick
Styler
Jurrjens
Dreim

It was believed that Stephen Dreim might not be able to participate here at WotW due to his resignation, but his name was kept on the list in hopes that FF would shake up a deal with Dreim in time for him to shoot up the 101 to here in Morro Bay.  However, Dreim and Feast Fest are still at odds, so he will not be participating.  (Note: Although Dreim has resigned, because Feast Fest is attempting to re-hire him, he is still being included in the chef count of 66.  That number will only be lowered to 65 if talks between the two sides break off and Dreim is not re-signed in time for this year's Feast Fest, which is only a month away on Nov. 22.)

In addition, Jawroldy Jurrjens was sidelined by a bout of mononucleosis, which could cause him to sit out Sunday's Edelyn exhibition as well, Jon Chu was detained by "a family crisis" involving "an aging aunt," and Joe Pasik is committed to attending a wedding of a cousin today.

Joan Styler, Jane Rousswick, and Keith Wholehreh had little to no explanations for their dropouts.  Ongoing pregnancy is one possible cause for Styler--although she gave no explanation this time around, pregnancy was the listed cause that kept her out of the Sept. 16 Tokyo exhibition.

Readying for WotW

-Morro Bay, Ca.
-Kicking off a huge week for Feast Fest, chefs have arrived here at Windows on the Water in San Luis Obispo County's Morro Bay, for the seventh of eight Feast Fest offswasin exhibitions. Less than a week from today, on Sunday, Feast Festers engage in the final exhibition before Feast Fest 2012 at Edelyn Cooking Arena in Punta Gorda, Fla.

But for now the focus is on WotW. Chefs want to avoid a repeat of a tarnished performance here in The Town by the Rock after scoring 87.5 overall and garnering a 79.0 turkey individual score. That exhibition was delayed twice due to water main breaks under the kitchen floor, and most of the exhibition--intended for a Saturday afternoon--took place late on a Sunday night.

FFers also wish to improve on their performance at their last exhibition, at Kitchen Stadium Japan in Tokyo on Sept. 16, which saw a lukewarm 90.9 overall score and a disappointing 85.7 turkey rating, primarily due to exceptionally dry birds that saddled Feast Fest's lone overseas exhibition for the second time in three tries (the 2010 Tokyo birds had those in attendance given samples of the turkey asking, "This is their traditional feast?").

The schedule for the evening is for the Official Cooking Portion, which is about half as long as that of the actual Feast Fest, to commence at 6:00 p.m. PT/9:00 p.m. ET and for DigIn to (hopefully) take place around 9:30 p.m. PT/12:30 a.m. ET.

Of this year's 66 chefs, 57 will be present. The Mason Duo will not be present due to a prior commitment. Because they will be gone, Jim McAllister will serve as sole head chef.




Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Feast Fest Pre-Event Chefs Schedule 2012 RELEASED

The schedule has been released for what will occur once the Feast Fest chefs arrive in Marina del Rey for Feast Fest XVIII on Monday, November 12.  They'll be in the Marina continuously for two weeks straight.  Here's the breakdown:

Times are PST

Monday, November 12th
Feast Fest Chefs Arrive Throughout the Day
8:00p.m. -- Roll Call in the Grand Ballroom to Ensure All 66 Chefs have Arrived

Tuesday, November 13th
8:30a.m.-3:00p.m. -- Opening Deliberations in the Grand Ballroom
4:00p.m.-6:00p.m. -- Mock Practice #1

Wednesday, November 14th
10:00a.m.-12:00p.m. -- Practice: Kitchen Equipment Runthrough
1:00p.m.-3:00p.m. -- Practice: Flare Skills Runthrough
4:00p.m.-6:00p.m. -- Practice: Core Skills Runthrough
7:00p.m.-9:00p.m. -- Practice: Innovative Ideas Workshop

Thursday, November 15th
8:00a.m.-3:00p.m. -- Official Pre-Event Chefs-Scouters Meeting
5:00p.m.-7:00p.m. -- Practice: Core Skills Runthrough

Friday, November 16th
9:00a.m.-11:00a.m. -- Practice:Kitchen Equipment Runthrough
11:30a.m.-1:30p.m. -- Practice: Flare Skills Runthrough
2:30p.m.-4:30p.m. -- Innovative Ideas Workshop

Saturday, November 17th
10:00a.m.-11:00 a.m. -- Practice: Turkey Roasters Rundown
11:00a.m.-1:00p.m. -- Tribute to Chefs who Left During the Offseason
1:00p.m.-3:00p.m. -- Welcome to New Chefs who Joined During the Offseason
3:00p.m.-5:00p.m. -- (New Chefs Only) NEW CHEF ORIENTATION SESSION, ALL CHEFS WHO JOINED ON OR AFTER DECEMBER 1, 2011 MUST BE PRESENT

Sunday, November 18th
8:00a.m.-10:00a.m. -- Practice: Flare Skills Runthrough
10:00a.m.-1:00p.m. -- Feast Fest Football Party

Monday, November19th
8:00a.m.-10:00a.m. -- Practice: Flare Skills Runthrough
10:00a.m.-12:00p.m. -- Practice: Core Skills Runthrough
2:00p.m.-4:00p.m. -- Practice: Turkey Roasters Rundown
4:00p.m.-6:00p.m. -- Practice: Kitchen Equipment Runthrough

Tuesday, November 20th
9:00a.m.-12:01p.m. -- ANNUAL MOCK "DRESS REHEARSAL" PREPFEST
12:02p.m.-7:04p.m. -- ANNUAL MOCK "DRESS REHEARSAL" FEAST FEST -- ALL 66 CHEFS MUST BE PRESENT

Wednesday, November 21st
--Day of Rest for Feast Fest chefs--

Thursday, November 22nd
--FEAST FEST XVIII!--

Friday, November 23rd
--Day of Rest for Feast Fest chefs--

Saturday, November 24th
9:00p.m. -- Feast Fest Chefs After Party!

Sunday, November 25th
10:00a.m.-1:00p.m. -- Feast Fest Football Party

Monday, November 26th
7:00a.m.-1:00p.m.--Annual Closing Meeting and Closing Deliberations
1:00p.m.--Chefs leave Fest Fest

FF Moves Negotiations with First Offer to Avi

-Marina del Rey, Ca.
-Tigress Head Sous-Chef Lynn Avi could jump over Co-Head Chef Jim McAllister in salary terms in a latest offer made by Feast Fest scouters.

The offer was not to be publicly announced until Monday morning but was leaked Sunday evening by sources familiar with the situation.

Avi, who will enter her seventh Feast Fest this Thanksgiving, will rake in $887,463 this year, having cradles $884,372 last year. Avi's contract expires December 31 and must be renewed in the upcoming offseason, which begins in December. Re-signing the glamgirl Avi for 2013 and beyond will be one of Feast Fest's biggest priorities post-Nov. 22.

This is Avi's second contract renewal negotiation. Originally signed for a two-year, $733,000-deal in 2006, she renegotiated in 2008.

The current proposal is for a 5-year, $903,455 deal.



Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

A. Hulckackamp Cleared

-Marina del Rey, Ca.
-Adam Hulckackamp has been cleared as the possible fifth scouter who took a $25,000 bribe from Anah de Vri and Peter di Vris in order to get the Dutch duo an unauthorized $469,000 salary upping.

Hulckackamp had been under investigation as a possible still-unidentified fifth scouter, aside from four now-fired others.

Hulckackamp had been implicated earlier this week in the scandal, because a cousin of his, Stan, was one of the condemned four scouters.

However, an independent investigation found Adam Hulckackamp wholly innocent. Hulckackamp claims to have had "no knowledge" of the incident before it was exposed earlier this month, saying he was "shocked and appalled" when he learned that his cousin was involved.





Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Vanderbilt Wins Managerial Award

The NCA's Managerial Award, given to the best manager of a restaurant, culinary institution, school, or event, went to William Vanderbilt for the second straight year Sunday.

Vanderbilt's fifth nomination led to his second victory in the category, with an outstandingly unanimous 1,533 votes, more than half of all those cast. 103 people were nominated.

"I am so touched and deeply moved to have been honored in this manner yet again," he said, emotionally stricken, at a press conference late Sunday.

"We are elated," Arthur Ayeiy, Vanderbilt's second-in-command, said when asked to describe the feelings of the FF chefs and other staff upon the announcement.

When he won this honor in 2011, some chefs disapproved and even booed at the announcement. This was because Vanderbilt's approval ratings among chefs had dipped sharply the week before the announcement due to his perceived support of reviled former chef Brianna Galen-Ames. However, there seemed to be no such dissension at Vandy's cradling of the award this time around.

Henry Lilton, manager of the New York Thanksgiving Spectacular, the largest Thanksgiving event similar to Feast Fest, placed fifth in the voting. Lilton's "Spectacular" has 34 chefs, about half of the amount Feast Fest has.





Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Donavert Defends Dreim, Shady Says FFers Opinion of Dreim Will Influence Rehiring Efforts

-Marina del Rey, Ca.
-Feast Fest chef Lakeland Donavert (don-uh-VAIR) defiantly defended former fellow FF fixture Stephen Dreim Sunday, calling Dreim "a master" whose "love for Feast Fest and wishes for it to reach the highest of heights would have absolutely excluded him from partaking in any nefarious activities that would damage the event's reputation," referring to Dreim's implication in a bribery scandal earlier this week. Dreim's name has been cleared in that scandal, but he resigned earlier this week mere hours before he was pronounced innocent, angered at the intense interrogations and harsh treatment he received during an independent investigation. Feast Fest has tried desperately to re-sign a stubborn Dreim, but some aren't so sure if that's the best move. Chefs have condemned the 33-year-old Americana master, calling him haughty, conceited, and self-centered, while others, such as Donavert, have virulently defended him.

"Feast Fest wishes to do what is best for the chef body as a whole," FF Executive Beryl Shady said early Sunday. "We wish to conform to the wishes of the chef body. If those wishes are saying, 'Hey, we didn't get along with Dreim, so if he doesn't want to come back don't try to get him back,' we'll listen." But, Shady said, "We're waiting for more chefs to voice an opinion before we make a decision based on those dialogues."

Only 23 chefs have voiced a Dreim opinion so far; of those 23, 11 viewed him negatively, 11 viewed him positively, and 1 was neutral.

Dreim is a polarizing factor among FF chefs. Said one of the few neutral chefs, Jack Mark, "You love him or you hate him, that's why he's Steve Dreim."




Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry