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$5,000 is Just ‘Desserts’ for Chef Team Elias/Ashby in Lyons Farm International Showcase

[Lexington, Ky.] – Red, white and blue were the flag colors of victory on Saturday night as the $5,000 grand prize in the first Lyons Farm International Showcase went to Chef Jeremy Ashby, co-owner and executive chef of AZUR Restaurant & Patio in Lexington, Ky., and his international chef partner for the competition, Petr Elias, executive chef of Hotel Villa in the Czech Republic.

(Left to right) Victory was sweet for Petr Elias, executive chef of Hotel Villa in the Czech Republic, and Jeremy Ashby, co-owner and executive chef of AZUR Restaurant & Patio in Lexington, Ky., the $5,000 grand prize-winning team in the first Lyons Farm International Chef Showcase presented by Alltech.

Eight accomplished international chefs representing Ireland, Italy, Argentina, Spain, France, Peru, Brazil and the Czech Republic were paired with eight leading chefs from Kentucky’s Bluegrass region. The challenge of each chef team was to prepare a three- to four- course dinner that incorporated Lyons Farm beef and chicken as well as Alltech libations, including the Kentucky Ale trio of beers, Pearse Lyons Reserve whiskey, Town Branch bourbon, the bourbon-infused coffee drink Bluegrass Sundown and Alltech Café Citadelle, a Haitian coffee. The dinner was served as the evening’s special in the eight Lexington chefs’ restaurants on Oct. 26 and 27.

“I am really proud of the fact that I think we conveyed a sense of time and place - Kentucky and Prague - in our menu,” said Ashby. “I am very happy that he (Elias) shared some of his dishes and family recipes with me, and I am glad the judges took notice of the special style we tried to bring.”

The winning menu by Ashby and Elias included:

“Hair of the Dog” – Lyons Farm chicken soup - Central European style - with Kentucky Ale beer foam, celery root and fennel pollen

First Course – Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale beer cheese, sausage and house cured country ham stuffed Lyons Farm chicken roulade with an Alltech Café Citadelle sorghum glaze, sweet potato, horseradish crème fraiche, buffalo chicken skin and petite vegetable crudité

Second Course – Lyons Farm beef shoulder, fired with Town Branch Bourbon, served with Czech style allspice cream gravy and Elias’ family parsley dumplings

Third Course – Bluegrass Sundown ganache, Pearse Lyons Reserve vanilla cream, sweet Kentucky Ale butter cake, smoked honey, dulche de leche, sea foam, essence of Alltech Cafe Citadelle, compressed strawberry and melon glass

Masterfully and theatrically created on guests’ tables, it was Ashby and Elias’ dessert that sealed the deal for the three-person panel of expert culinary judges from Sullivan University in Lexington, Ky.

“We wanted it to be interactive. When the economy is bad, people are working hard and they come to eat, you need to have something fun,” said Ashby. “We painted their table.”

“I will remember this to the end of my life,” said Elias.

Following tastings at all eight restaurants, the judges determined the following category winners:

• Most Aromatic - Craig de Villers (Lexington) and Alfonso Crescenzo (Italy)

De Villers is a chef at Bellini's. He learned to cook as a teen while working with the kitchen staff at his family's lodge in South Africa. Crescenzo, whose specialty is Italian cuisine, is the chef de cuisine of Splendido Restaurant at the Ritz- Carlton in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

• Judges’ Choice (as opposed to highest total points) - Ouita Michel (Midway) and Alan Clarke (Ireland)

Michel is the chef and owner of Holly Hill Inn and Wallace Station Deli in Midway, and Windy Corner Market in Lexington. She is also the chef-in-residence at Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles. Clarke is the executive chef for The Right Catering Co. in Drogheda County, Louth, Ireland, whose clients include Microsoft, Hilfiger and Disney.

• Most Unique - Jonathan Lundy (Lexington) and Manu Buffara (Brazil)

Lundy is the chef/owner of Jonathan at Gratz Park and received a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. Buffara is the chef at Manu in Curitiba, Brazil, and teaches gastronomy at Centro Europeu.

• Most Creative - Rob Nathanson (Lexington) and Angel Fernandez de Retana (Spain)

Nathanson is the chef at Portofino and a graduate of Sullivan University. De Retana is a culinary instructor at Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastian. Spain.

• Most Visually-Appealing - Jeff Keatley (Frankfort) and Cyrille Berland (France)

Self-taught, Keatley has been the sous chef at Serafini for four years. Berland is the chef at Toques Rebelles Academy of Cooking in Caen, France.

• People’s Choice - Josh Winslow (Lexington) and Martin Angel Rodriguez (Argentina)

Winslow is the executive chef at the Triangle Grille. He is a graduate of Johnson & Wales in Charleston, S.C. Rodriguez is the chef at Diapri in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

• Most Original - Andrew Suthers (Lexington) and Javier Ampuero Figueroa (Peru)

Suthers is the chef at The Village Idiot and received culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu program at Brown College in Mendota Heights, Minn. Figueroa is the chef and owner of Ampuero Restaurant in Lima, Peru.

“This weekend some of the world’s greatest culinary minds came together to learn, to taste, to laugh and to inspire. They came from across oceans and vastly different cultures, bonded by their shared love for gastronomic excellence and eager to learn from one another’s techniques and flavor understandings,” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder. “Eight chef teams were honored, but I’d contend that the greatest winners were the diners at these restaurants this weekend.”

“Lexington may very soon be the culinary epicenter of the Midwest, particularly as we look to welcoming even more of the world’s leading chefs for next year’s Lyons Farm International Chef Showcase,” Dr. Lyons continued.