TU: Jacksonville chef earns top prize in national cooking contest

Link to article: https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20181016/jacksonville-chef-earns-top-prize-in-national-cooking-contest

Jacksonville chef earns top prize in national cooking contest

Dennis Chan of the Jacksonville’s Blue Bamboo restaurant won the General Mills’ Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest grand prize for his Sunshine State Orange Crunch Cake.

Chan won $30,000 for earning the to prize and can also select a charity to receive $5,000.

“This whole experience of winning the Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest has been amazing,” Chan said from New York this week. “General Mills Foodservice has done so much to help my business. Three of the major parts of our grand prize were 1) a big billboard to tell all of Jacksonville about our honor, 2) a full-page ad in the Times-Union to share the news, and 3) a trip to New York City to the Food Network Wine and Food Festival to share our cake with thousands of attendees.

“This festival was by far the biggest international wine and food festival I have ever been to,” he continued. “Crowds of media, foodies, and industry professionals came by to sample our winning recipe.

The winning recipe was made with yellow cake, orange sauce, pineapple cream cheese, and puff pastry dough and was described by Alyca Judge, the senior marketing manager of General Mills Foodservice, as a “showstopper.”

“Dennis’s unique use of puff pastry layers adds an interesting texture to the dessert that makes it fun to eat,” she said.

Chan also had the opportunity to see other chefs.

“In one event, Iron Chef Morimoto took a whole tuna and broke it down to sushi right before our eyes,” Chan said. “He did it all in the time it took two techno songs to play.

“In a separate event, I got to meet and talk to another one of my culinary idols, pastry chef Christina Tosi. She and I talked about local events that I have catered in which Blue Bamboo prepared the savory dishes, while the desserts served were from her bakery in New York. It was fun to connect with so many chefs.

“I also had the chance to squeeze in some time and enjoy the festival as a guest, and attended Celebrity Chef demonstrations, and got to see so many new ideas to bring back to Blue Bamboo,” Chan said. “It was definitely the weekend of a lifetime, and am thankful that General Mills Foodservice liked our Blue Bamboo signature Sunshine State Orange Crunch Cake.”

Chan’s family had been in the restaurant business for over 70 years and he began working with food at these restaurants that served traditional Chinese food, according to Jacksonville Restaurant Reviews.

Since then, he has studied Italian, Asian and French cooking techniques.

Chan now hosts cooking classes at the Blue Bamboo, teaches culinary classes at Florida State College at Jacksonville and hosts monthly events at his restaurant in addition to the regular running of the restaurant.