Jones Wins Best Russian, Aiber Follows Him At Second

-New York
-FF chef Andri Jones won his first career NCA award Sunday, claiming the inaugural instatement of the "Best Russian" award, surprising pundits who predicted that fellow FF chef Alexei Aiber, also a Russian but also much older and more experienced, would walk away with the title.

But Aiber was not sore. "So happy to hear about @Andri_Jones winning inaugural #NCABestRussian!!!" Aiber tweeted.

Jones was asleep in Russia and had not yet been notified of his victory at press time. Aiber, a Russian expatriate, lives in the U.S. and was among the first to congratulate Jones.

"Andri Jones is one of our shining new chefs," Event Mgr. William Vanderbilt said, "and we could not be prouder of his award here today. We also are incredibly tickled pink to see that Alexei Aiber has also podiumed."

Jones grabbed 11.4% of the vote, Aiber 9.8% of the vote, and Andri's brother Petr, also a Feast Fest chef, garnered 1.19% of the vote at seventh place, just falling short of podiuming.

FF Wire Service

FEAST FEST PRE-EVENT CHEFS SCHEDULE 2013 RELEASED

-Marina del Rey, Calif.
-Feast Fest finally released Saturday evening the schedule for the Feast Fest chefs once they arrive in Marina del Rey on Nov. 18. They will stay in the Marina for two weeks, a total of 14 days and 14 nights.

All times are PST
Especially important events have been CAPITALIZED.

Monday, November 18th
CHEFS ARRIVE AT THE BEACHVIEW RESORT THROUGHOUT THE DAY
8:00 p.m. -- ROLL CALL IN THE GRAND BALLROOM TO ENSURE THAT ALL 67 CHEFS HAVE ARRIVED

Tuesday, November 19th
8:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. OPENING DELIBERATIONS IN THE GRAND BALLROOM
3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Mock Practice #1

Wednesday, November 20th
9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. -- Practice: Core Skills Runthrough
12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. -- Practice: Kitchen Equipment Runthrough
3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. -- Practice: Turkey Roasters Rundown
Dinner
7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. -- Practice: Innovative Ideas Workshop

Thursday, November 21st
8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. -- Official Pre-Event Chefs-Scouters Meeting
4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. -- Practice: Kitchen Equipment Runthrough

Friday, November 22nd
9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. -- Practice: Flare Skills Runthrough
12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. -- Practice: Core Skills Runthrough
3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. -- Practice: Innovative Ideas Workshop

Saturday, November 23rd
9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. -- Practice: Flare Skills Runthrough
11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. -- Tribute to Chefs Who Left During the Offseason
1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. -- New Chefs Welcome and Question & Answer Session
3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. -- (New Chefs ONLY) NEW CHEF ORIENTATION SESSION, ALL CHEFS WHO JOINED ON OR AFTER DECEMBER 1, 2012 MUST BE PRESENT

Sunday, November 24th
8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. -- Practice: Core Skills Runthrough
10:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. -- Feast Fest Football Party, Luncheon, and Ice Cream Social

Monday, November 25th
7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. -- Practice: Kitchen Equipment Runthrough
9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. -- Practice: Flare Skills Runthrough
12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. -- Practice: Turkey Roasters Rundown
2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. -- Practice: Core Skills Runthrough

Tuesday, November 26th
9:00 a.m.-12:02 p.m. -- ANNUAL MOCK "DRESS REHEARSAL" PREPFEST
12:03 p.m. - 6:56 p.m. -- ANNUAL MOCK "DRESS REHEARSAL" FEAST FEST

Wednesday, November 27th
--Day of rest for Feast Fest chefs--

Thursday, November 28th
4:30 a.m. -- Kitchen Opens to Feast Fest Chefs
7:00 a.m.-12:02 p.m. -- PREPFEST
12:02 p.m.-6:56 p.m. -- FEAST FEST XIX!!
6:56 p.m.-8:00 p.m. -- Dinner service
8:00 p.m. -- Score and MVC Announcements and Presentation
8:30 p.m. -- Chefs Go Off Duty

Friday, November 29th
--Day of rest for Feast Fest chefs--

Saturday, November 30th
9:00 p.m.-3:00 a.m. -- FEAST FEST CHEFS AFTER PARTY!! in the Grand Ballroom

Sunday, December 1st
10:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. -- Feast Fest Football Party, Luncheon, and Ice Cream Social

Monday, December 2nd
8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. -- ANNUAL CLOSING MEETING AND DELIBERATIONS - ALL CHEFS MUST BE PRESENT
2:00 p.m. -- Chefs Leave Feast Fest*

*Seeing as the meeting prevents chefs from leaving until 2:00 p.m., those with longer flights or traveling days back home may choose not to leave until Tuesday, December 3rd.

FF Wire Service

Crellas Wins Most Diverse for 2nd Consecutive Year

-New York
-It's only been given out twice, and yet Laelech Crellas is already 2 for 2.

The multiethnic, multinational Feast Fest chef won her second consecutive NCA Most Diverse honor Saturday. The award was first given out in 2012.

"It makes sense that Laelech would win this award yet again," Event Mgr. William Vanderbilt said in a congratulatory statement, "as she is truly the world come together in one chef."

Crellas's ancestries include Hawaiian, Polynesian, Native American, German, British, Japanese, Indian, Indonesian, Irish, and Polish. This will be her eleventh Feast Fest.

Crellas called herself "in joyous tears" over the announcement Saturday. Crellas's choice was no contest, as she garnered 27.3% of the vote. FFer Jawrodly Jurrjens, himself bred of many different culinary cultures, podiumed at fourth, receiving 4.3%.

It was the first time an FF chef other than Crellas podiumed in Most Diverse. In 2012, Crellas won, but no other Feast Festers got on the board.

The 4th place honor marks Jurrjens' first ever NCA podium. "I'm so excited I can't find words! Thanks to all who have supported me! #ncaawards #ff," Jurrjens tweeted from Amsterdam, where it was already early Sunday morning when the winners were announced.

FF Wire Service

Scandal May Envelop Chef's Brother As Well

-Marina del Rey, Calif.
-Allan Rousswick, a Feast Fest chef and brother of fellow Feast Fest chef, Jane Rousswick, who received $122,222 in gifts from a scouter, may soon be implicated in the scandal already surrounding her sister.

An official investigation of the incident, which brought about the firing of the scouter, Peter Chilphingham, and could lead to potential disciplinary action against Jane Rousswick, found Saturday that Allan Rousswick benefited from some of the gifts provided to his sibling.  It is alleged that Allan Rousswick received half of the $20,000 in cash given to Jane Rousswick, and that Allan Rousswick used those moneys to buy several other expensive personal effects, including a Cartier men's watch.

Calls to the homes of both Rousswicks in Nova Scotia, to the offices of their agents, and to Chilphingham were all unanswered Saturday.  Jane Rousswick released a statement early Saturday morning claiming her brother was "more suspicious than [she]" about the source of the money, and yet still went ahead and used it anyway.

Allan Rousswick's agent released a statement claiming he had been lied to.  "Mr. Rousswick believed that his sister and Mr. Chilphingham were involved in a romantic relationship," the agent said.  "While suspicious about the money, Mr. Rousswick believed that its sources were legitimate.  Now that he is aware that the money was pilfered from Feast Fest's official budget, he is working to return all of the money, along with his sister Jane."

The two will both be interrogated when the chefs arrive for a ten-day Feast Fest preparatory session on Nov. 18.  One or both could be benched from Feast Fest 2013 on Nov. 28 over the matter.

FF Wire Service

Chilphingham Fired

-Marina del Rey, Calif.
-Dipping into Feast Fest's official budget without the knowledge of higher-ups to buy FF chef Jane Rousswick $122,222 in gifts was the straw that finally broke the camel's back for Pete Chilphingham.

Chilphingham was at last fired Friday morning after allegations that he had stolen the money from Feast Fest's official budget surfaced. Feast Fest says that they could press criminal charges against Chilphingham, but that they have decided not to "to spare our event a stressful litigation process so close to the big day" as stated by Head Scouter Jim Dall.

Chilphingham had been a controversial figure for years at Feast Fest's Scouting Department, and narrowly escaped firing four other times. He stole money from a fellow scouter's wallet on another occasion.

"It was time for Mr. Chilphingham to go," said an analyst, Mike Vilshire.

But Rousswick herself has also come under fire for not reporting the pilfered money and lavish gifts to Feast Fest early enough. The gift giving occurred from July to September and included several diamond jewelry pieces, a trip to Honolulu, $20,000 in cash, and a Cadillac.

Rousswick's alibi is that she only found out this week that the funds used for the gifts had been pilfered. She will be interrogated and could face disciplinary action beginning Nov. 18, when all 67 chefs will assemble in Marina del Rey, Calif. for a 10-day preparatory and training session preceding Feast Fest on Thanksgiving, Nov. 28.

"Rousswick has the real chance of being benched from Feast Fest over this matter," Vilshire said.

Rousswick vowed to return all of the $122,222 to Feast Fest Events, Inc.

FF Wire Service

Rousswick States She Received Improper Gifts

-Marina del Rey, Calif.
-Feast Fest chef Jane Rousswick has gotten a Feast Fest scouter in hot water after she claimed she had been bought lavish gifts by the scouter, who apparently has amorance for her, using the Scouting Department's own official budget.

Rousswick announced Thursday that she was in the process of repaying $122,222 worth of gifts that came directly from Feast Fest Events, Inc. without the knowledge of higher-up officials.

Rousswick claimed that she had long been the object of amorance for scouter Peter Chilphingham.  She says that she received $20,000 in cash, a Cadillac valued at $47,383, over thirty pieces of diamond jewelry together valued at $44,561, and a trip to Honolulu worth $10,278, all over a period from Jul. 24 to Sept. 18.  Rousswick, 39, returned all of the gifts to their distributors and pledged to return the moneys associated with them to Feast Fest Events, Inc.

Rousswick joined Feast Fest in 2009 along with her brother, Alan; Rousswick is based in Halifax, N.S.

Chilphingham has been an odd character throughout his tenure with the Scouting Department.  He twice resigned, only to beg for his job back the same day.  He was caught dipping into a fellow scouter's wallet in October 2010.

"Mr. Chilphingham's actions have approached firing on multiple occasions," Head Scouter Jim Dall said.  "And this may have been the straw to break the camel's back." 

Dall said that any decision to fire Chilphingham would have to be approved by Feast Fest executives.

Some, though, are questioning why Rousswick took more than four months to report the lavish gift-giving, which she called "suspicious," to Feast Fest Events, Inc.

"If this situation had been treated properly, the money would have been brought back much sooner."  Dall called for an investigation of Rousswick's actions as well, although that, too, would have to clear executives' tables first before becoming a reality.

Rousswick claimed she only realized this week that the gifts had come from Feast Fest's official budget.  She said she knew that tough questions will arise when she arrives, with all the other chefs, for a ten-day preparatory pre-Feast Fest session in Marina del Rey on Nov. 18.

"I will be ready to discuss the matter at that time," Rousswick said, and would have no further word on the matter.

Chilphingham would not answer phone calls to his office Thursday.

Correction Regarding EA

An article about Eliminate Alcohol boycotting Feast Fest misquoted EA Court President John Mecke as saying the decision was "unanimous," then quoted a member of the Court who opposed the proposal.

Rather, the proposal garnered 18 approving votes in the Court of 20. The quoted Court member, Jim Rokkette, was one of only two dissenting members.

FF Wire Service