Rice like you've never had it
From classic to over-the-top, Risotto Festival entries drive judges to drink
- Paying guests were entitled to generous samplings of the risotto from the 18competing chefs.Photo by Shelby Hodge
- The judges were wooed in the LGI Showroom where UH Hilton College studentsserved the entries and the wine.Photo by Shelby Hodge
- Hannah Lonergan, from left, Korey Cope and Jennifer Cope were among the 500joining the outdoor feast.Photo by Shelby Hodge
- Carmelo Mauro of Carmelo's fame served his brand of risotto.Photo by Shelby Hodge
- Peppers were among the side dishes served at the Grotto booth where chef RickyCruz held forth.Photo by Shelby Hodge
- Chef Arturo Boada, left, stopped by to wish chef Philippe Schmit good luck inthe Risotto Festival competition.Photo by Shelby Hodge
- Jonathon Glus, left, and Alton LaDay got an early start on the risottosamplings.Photo by Shelby Hodge
- Mockingbird Bistro's fall wild mushroom risotto received honorable mention.Photo by Shelby Hodge
- Grotto's Ceasar Huerta continually stirs the risotto.Photo by Shelby Hodge
- The Art Institute's Sarah Troxell served up the school's entry in thecompetition.Photo by Shelby Hodge
- Gordon and Jennifer Kovacs took a seat while sampling a variety of risottos.Photo by Shelby Hodge
Some might say that it was the Plain Janes that walked away with top honors at Sunday's Risotto Festival. I prefer to think of it as the classics winning out over the complicated.
After tasting a few too many zany interpretations of the time-honored Italian dish, the judges were easily wowed by Trevisio chef Jon Buchanan's entry. They singled out his creamy, flavorful risotto laced with lump crabmeat and Meyer lemons as the day's best.
First runner-up in the competition between the 18 chefs, who cooked feverishly at portable kitchens along the sidewalks at Houston Design Center, was Jamie Zelko of Zelko Bistro. Her fragrant risotto topped with a king's ransom in white Alba truffles impressed. Second runner-up was the flavorful beef ragout risotto prepared by Philippe Schmit, whose Philippe Restaurant is soon to open in BLVD Place. Honorable mention went to Mockingbird Bistro chef John Sheely for his fall wild mushroom risotto.
I joined the stable of judges in the LGI Showroom for two and a half hours of tasting and tasting and tasting. We were advised to go slowly on the prosecco and the wine, which by risotto entry number 9 or 10 was a must.
Veterans of this eighth annual competition recommended that we measure our intake so as not to explode by the final tasting. Which could have been a possibility after sampling risotto with duck confit and foie gras, risotto with Kobe beef and Kemah shrimp and risotto with Spanish chorizo and blood oranges. Whew!
Sitting down at the beautifully-set table to judge the creations by some of the best chefs in town were PaperCity's Laurann Claridge, My Table Magazine's Teresa Byrne-Dodge, PBS Channel 8's Ernie Manouse, Houston Magazines' Mitchell Allen Parker, Houston Restaurant Association's Michael Shine and perhaps the most-qualified judge of all Italian Consul General Fabrizio Nava.
He kept us well-informed on the intricacies of a winning risotto. He pointed out, for example, that the risotto prepared with strawberry confiture and prosecco was in fact a traditional Italian interpretation. To the contrary, the risotto that was served more like a cake of jambalaya than a creamy concoction sorely missed the boat. (Actually, they all tasted pretty swell. Only one entry drew "yuks.")
Nava also educated the judges on the specifics of pine nuts (those from Turkey are the best) and the growth in popularity and quality of wines from Sicily — all as we sipped wines courtesy of Casa Vinicola Zonin.
The event served as a flavorful fundraiser for the University of Houston Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management. Guests paid $75 a person to stroll the tree-shrouded setting sampling the various risottos and other taste treats while washing it down with Italian wines. Italian music added to the festive scene on a perfect Sunday afternoon.
The participating restaurants, beyond those already named, included Branch Water Tavern, Caffe Bello, Divino, Eric's Restaurant, Max's Wine Dive, Pesce, Quattro, Ray's Grill, the Tasting Room, Viking and Voice.