Let’s go from chicken to pork now. Here’s Joseph Royer who just won the 2007 Taste of Elegance contest sponsored by the Pork Checkoff.
Joseph Royer, executive chef at the Saturn Grill in Oklahoma City, won top honors in the 18th annual national Taste of Elegance contest May 7 in San Diego, Calif. The competition, sponsored by the Pork Checkoff, featured 24 chefs, all winners of state and regional Taste of Elegance contests. Royer earned Chef Par Excellence honors with his winning entrée of Modern Noodle Bowl with Shoulder, Ribs, & Belly and a check for $5,000. This is the second Taste of Elegance title for Royer. He won in 2004 for his Confit of Smoked Pork Belly with Asian Spiced Pork Tenderloin entrée.
“The national Taste of Elegance contest brought some of the nation’s best chefs together to share their talent using pork,” said Dianne Bettin, a pork producer from Minnesota and National Pork Board member. “By reaching chefs through Checkoff programs like this, the goal is to increase pork items on menus.”
In the national contest, competing chefs from Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin created original pork entrees that were judged for taste, appearance and originality. The Taste of Elegance contest was created to encourage chefs to use pork more frequently in creative, non-traditional ways.