What a birthday! Last week we celebrated Jack Daniel’s birthday with Hill Country barbecue, delicious JD cocktails, and one incredible cake. Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes fame brought the amazing creation all the way from Baltimore and he couldn’t have been more thrilled to be at the Beard House.
The cake was truly a work of art. The statue of Jack was made out of 60 pounds of solid chocolate and the barrel was carved out of a moist and flavorful pumpkin and chocolate chip cake. In his remarks to the crowd Duff shared how in an effort to explain the significance of the Beard House to his artistic staff, he compared cooking here to having your artwork hung at the MOMA. We were certainly honored by his comparison.
After pictures were taken and the handiwork was admired, Duff set about cutting the cake, and we all enjoyed a slice!
The recipes have been pouring in, but who will be tasting these masterpieces? Our panel of esteemed judges hails from all areas of the food world—we’ve got a chef, a food stylist and cookbook author, and a few dedicated foodies too. Each has a keen eye for detail and a highly developed palate.
First up is current Top Chef Masters contestant Anita Lo. One of our favorite NYC chefs, Anita’s restaurant Annisa has been at the top of critics’ lists for nearly a decade and her contemporary, elegant, and adventurous dishes always leave us wanting more.
Next we have the dynamic husband-and-wife team of Chris and Jennifer McBride, founders and editors of the video restaurant guide www.savorycities.com. They’ve sampled the cuisine of tops chefs around the country, so they know a thing or two about what great food tastes like.
Finally we have Mindy Fox, a talented food stylist and cookbook author who recognizes a good recipe when she sees one. Currently the food editor of the magazine La Cucina Italiana and formerly an editor at Saveur, she has written for many magazines and collaborated on a number of cookbooks, including Olives & Oranges with Sara Jenkins and the forthcoming The Craft of Baking with Karen DeMasco.
Our four judges, along with JBF vice president and bona fide tasting expert Mitchell Davis, will sample, critique, and rate your dishes on a scale of 1 to 5. The dish with the highest rating will be declared our winner.
And don’t forget, the dish’s creator will join us for the uber exclusive Jack Daniel’s Birthday bash at the Beard House on September 9th.
There’s still plenty of time left to get us your recipes! Tweet nowor forever hold your peace.
We want your recipes! Sure, we love it when chefs like Jonathan Benno, Martin Brock, and Alexandra Guarnachelli give us recipes for some of their great dishes, but we love it even more when we hear from our members and friends about what they like to cook at home.
We’re launching our first ever recipe contest and we want to hear from you. What’s the best way to get recipes from you guys? Twitter of course! Tweet your recipe in 140 characters or less AND be sure to include the hashtag #jbfrecipe by August 14 for a chance to have your recipe tasted and judged by an incredible panel of experts.
Drinks, salads, roasts, desserts—you name it; we want it. We’ve only got two guidelines: the finished product should taste delicious and we want to see your Twitter creativity. Wow us with flavors and your novel use of symbols and abbreviation.
Over the next two weeks we’ll be diligently monitoring the Twittersphere for the best recipes and along the way we’ll be updating our readers with tidbits about who our judges will be, which recipes didn’t make the cut, and our fabulous prize.
What is the prize, you ask? It’s 2 tickets to the exclusive Jack Daniel’s Birthday Party at the Beard House on September 9, featuring Hill Country barbecue, Jack Daniel’s cocktails prepared by celebrity mixologist David Wondrich, and a one-of-a-kind cake prepared by none other than Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes fame.
Here’s how it works:
Tweet your recipe in 140 characters or less AND be sure to include the hashtag #jbfrecipe by August 14, 2009.
We’ll pick the top 15 entries and put them to a vote right here on Delights & Prejudices—the 5 most popular recipes will move on to the final round.
On August 21, 2009 we’ll host a panel of esteemed chefs, cookbook authors, and journalists at the Beard House for a tasting of the top 5 recipes.
These judges will choose one winner, which we will announce here on August 24, 2009.
Along with 2 tickets to the Jack Daniel’s Birthday Party, the winner will also have their recipe posted in the James Beard Foundation’s recipe section, alongside recipes from such greats as Eric Ripert, Michelle Bernstein, and James Beard himself.
What are you waiting for? Start tweeting. We’re already hungry!
What a birthday! Last week we celebrated Jack Daniel’s birthday with Hill Country barbecue, delicious JD cocktails, and one incredible cake. Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes fame brought the amazing creation all the way from Baltimore and he couldn’t have been more thrilled to be at the Beard House.
