Jason Weaver, Executive Chef at La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa in Montgomery, TX captured the US position in the IACC-Americas qualifying cook-off positions and the right to represent the United States at the International Association of Conference Centers’ eighth annual Copper Skillet Cooking Competition.
Seven other chefs from IACC chapters in North America, Europe, and Australia will join Chef Weaver at The National Conference Center in Leesburg, VA in March to vie for the crown of the Global Conference Center Chef of the Year.
Chef Jason Weaver has an extensive culinary background in the hospitality industry. Most recently, he served as executive chef for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas, and Texas foodies know Weaver from his days as executive chef at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas, home of the legendary French Room.
Weaver’s other celebrated culinary ventures include executive chef at the Mandarin Oriental in New York, chef of Café Sambal at the Mandarin Oriental Miami, and chef of The Grill at Ritz-Carlton in Dearborn, MI.
The qualifying cook-off was hosted by the Conference Center at Northpointe in Lewis Center, OH, where Weaver competed against IACC Chefs Charles Chambers of Hamilton Park Hotel & Conference Center (Florham Park, NJ); Stephen Fratianni of The Conference Center at Desmond Hotel (Albany, NY); Tricia Gardner of the Conference Center at Northpointe (Columbus, OH); Craig Mason from The National Conference Center (Leesburg, VA); and Jeffrey Witte of Airlie Center (Warrenton, VA).
Chef Weaver’s winning creation was Herb Glazed Halibut, Caramelized Cauliflower, Prawn and Cous Cous Salad atop arugula. The judging criteria for the cooking competition included originality of the creation, presentation, texture, flavor combinations and hygiene standard of the work area.
Local judges included Richard Blondin, Chef de Cuisine at The Refectory, Columbus, OH; Richard Peterson, Executive Chef at Grasing’s Coastal Cuisine, Carmel-by-the Sea, California; and Jon Christianson, Wine and Food Critic for “The Columbus Dispatch.”
IACC’s Canadian winner in the IACC-Americas competition is Executive Chef Murray Hall from BMO Financial Group Institute for Learning in Toronto. Last year, Chef Hall also won the Canadian competition and represented Canada at the International Competition at the 29th IACC Annual Conference.
In 2005, Hall received his Canadian “Chef de Cuisine” certification – the highest level of culinary achievement recognized in Canada. Chef Hall’s extensive culinary experience draws from his love of travel.
While with Marriott Hotels & Resorts he spent time cooking at properties in Bermuda and Hawaii and learned to love Asian fusion from his exposure to Japanese and California culinary approaches.
Chef Hall impressed the local judges with his Butter-poached Lobster Tail with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Basil atop Sweet Potato Crisps alongside Sesame-marinated Tofu, Pan-seared with Mango Asian salad.
Also competing at the Canadian cook-off at Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre in December were Jean Mathieu LeClerc, sous chef, NAV Canada Training & Conference Centre (Cornwall, ON); Alessandro Malnati, sous chef, Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre (London, ON); Chris McCrae, sous chef, White Oaks Resort & Spa (Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON); Alan Boden, executive chef at Donald Gordon Conference Centre, (Kingston, ON) had to withdraw because of illness.
Copper Skillet - The popular Copper Skillet competition was introduced in 2004 to highlight the artistry and skill of the best chefs from IACC-member conference centers around the world and to honor their contributions to the shared goal of providing an outstanding conference center experience.
Culinary themes in past years included Asian Fusion, Moroccan, Provencal, and Thai. This year, once again, the theme was abandoned in order to focus on creativity.
Each competing chef will receive a “mystery basket” of ingredients at the start of the competition after which they will be free to create any style of dish. Each chef will have 15 minutes to review the ingredients and strategize followed by 30 minutes to create their dish.
