Last night’s HopChef Competition at the Cyclorama was certainly hopping. Folks from all over New England gathered together, brewski in-hand, to witness local chefs battle it out in the acclaimed beer and food pairing culinary competition.
Each chef was assigned a Brewery Ommegang ale and then required to create a dish that paired well with the brew. The chefs gave their presentations last night to the judges – as both HopChef attendees and judges tasted the bites and sipped the brews (including me) and voted on their favorite.
Local chefs and their pairings included:
Jeff Howe of Teatro
Beer Pairing: Hop House Ale
Dish: Rabbit Sausage with dry hopped coriander mustard
Johnny Sheehan of New World Tavern
Beer pairing: Hennepin Ale
Dish: Striped bass sashimi
Kyle Stamps of Coda Bar & Kitchen
Beer pairing: Abbey Ale
Dish: Lamb pastrami with braised cabbage, fennel and mustard.
Julie Cutting of Cure
Beer pairing: Witte Ale
Dish: Glazed pork belly on corn bread
Alex Jenkins of Foundry on Elm
Beer pairing: Rare Vos Ale
Dish: Confit of lamb, sweet potato fondant potato, and black berries
Brian Reyelt of Franklin Café
Beer pairing: Three Philosophers Ale
Dish: Crispy pig trotter schnitzel with smoked hops, molasses and sour cherry mash.
After grazing the HopChef fare, I concluded that my favorite dish and beer pairings were prepared by Kyle Stamps of Coda and Johnny Sheehan of Plymouth’s New World Tavern restaurant.
And not surprisingly, Chef Johnny Sheehan ended up taking home the win and the Boston HopChef 2014 title.
Take a look at last night’s HopChef event in the slideshow below.