2016 Shore Lodge Culinary Festival: Meet this year’s emcee, chefs and judges
The 2016 Culinary King of the Mountain Competition is Saturday, April 2 during Shore Lodge’s third annual Culinary Festival. Meet the talented team on this year’s marquee, including our returning emcee, competing chefs and esteemed judges. For more information or to attend this year’s Culinary Festival, visit shorelodge.com.
EMCEE
Chef Alan Turner returns to emcee the Culinary King of the Mountain Competition for the third year. Turner currently consults for John Berryhill’s popular eatery in downtown Boise. He devotes his spare time to charity events for Idaho Food Bank and other local organizations. He’s considered an expert in beef thanks to his prior role at Agri Beef, where he educated chefs and consumers about hand-cut aged American Kobe steaks, Wagyu beef and Kurobuta pork from Snake River Farms and Double R Ranch.
CHEFS
Chef Julian Greaves hails from the super-competitive restaurant scene in South Florida. During a Q&A with a publication there, a reporter asked him where he would go if he could drop everything and, well, go. His response: “Boise, Idaho. I fell in love this year while whitewater rafting. Best people, geography, climate, attitude, and way of life.” That was in 2012. Fast-forward to the present and you’ll find Greaves just 100 miles north of Boise—living the life at Whitetail Club. As executive chef of the private community, Greaves is tasked with sourcing local ingredients for members. This was quite a change for him coming from an area surrounded by water with menus focused on fresh fish. At Whitetail Club, he relishes working with wild game and mushrooms as well as huckleberries, but it’s the region’s quality of beef and pork that continues to blow him away.
Chef Wiley Earl is the top chef for all Lucky Fins & Smokin Fins locations in Boise. He became restaurant savvy as a kid in New York City, where his mother dined out and entertained guests with him by her side regularly. After cooking with renowned chefs in Miami and and for private clients in The Bahamas, Earl landed in downtown Boise to redefine how food is perceived in this region of the country. His focus now is on fresh seafood and sushi at Lucky Fins and smoked meats at Smokin Fins.
Bringing more than 30 years of restaurant experience to the table, Chef Luis Flores has been educating and inspiring staff while exceeding guest expectations since Chandlers Steakhouse opened in 2007. Flores came from humble beginnings working in his mother’s kitchen in Mexico before working his way up to several exceptional kitchens in Orange County, California. Cooking came naturally to him and his eight siblings on the family farm, where the basics of gardening and cultivating and raising animals became part of their daily life. Flores maintains the traditions he learned at a young age. His love for the land and Treasure Valley’s agrarian lifestyle continues to inspire him as he drives the creative cuisine at one of Boise’s highest-rated restaurants.
Chef CK is serious about sustainability. His family-run restaurant in Hailey’s historic downtown recycles everything, donates used cooking oil, composts vegetable scraps and sources 15 percent of its energy from rooftop solar panels. And solar water heaters are on the way soon! The cuisine is inspired by global dishes yet all ingredients come from local or regional farms and ranches. A sprouting set of menu choices, complemented by an extensive wine list, keeps CK’s loyal patrons happy and healthy. CK, who has been cooking since 1976, works alongside his children, Simone and Gavin, who have a hand in the kitchen and the dining room.
JUDGES
Known for her warmth, humor and thoughtfulness, Lindy Novak oversees Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery’s sales program in 47 states. For decades, Lindy has worked closely with her mother, a champion for women in wine, and her sister to establish Spottswoode as one of Napa Valley’s most iconic and respected wineries. She’s an ambassador for her family’s historic winery at tastings, dinners and other key trade and consumer events across the country. Every year, four wines are released: Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc, Lyndenhurst Cabernet Sauvignon and Field Book Syrah. The Novak family is committed to producing outstanding wines with integrity that faithfully reflect their grape origins.
A native of San Francisco, Corrine Mehigan is Gentry Magazine’s Editorial/Communications Manager. Corrine travels the globe writing stories of all kinds including features highlighting travel, design designations, philanthropy, food and wine, entertainment, philanthropy, health and wellness, environment, and more across all of the family of magazines. This also includes newly launched Gentry Destinations, the magazine that inspires, guides, and enables affluent travelers of San Francisco/Silicon Valley to visit and enjoy their favorite destinations. Gentry Magazine is the magazine about notable people and noteworthy philanthropy for the affluent, sophisticated leaders of San Francisco, the Peninsula, and Silicon Valley. Also in the family, Gentry Home is the exciting, newly-imagined magazine that brings a whole new look and concept to design and living well. Every issue celebrates everything wonderful in design and style from interiors to fashion to jewelry to furnishings. As an experienced critic of her cooking by her fiancé, Kylie Cook, she’s had plenty of practice judging!
Kitty Delorey Fleischman is a former junior high teacher and serial entrepreneur. She co-founded the Idaho Business Review in 1984, sold it in 1999; and founded Idaho Magazine 15 years ago. The monthly lifestyle publication covers the history, heritage and adventure of the state. It has won numerous awards, including “Best Four-Color Publication” from the National Federation of Press Women, of which she’s an active member. Fleischman also serves as the secretary of Media Network Idaho, and was Idaho’s candidate for the National Federation of Press Women’s Communicator of Achievement award in 2011 and 2015. She resides in Boise with her husband Gerald and their pets.
The post Who’s coming to the 2016 Shore Lodge Culinary Festival appeared first on Shore Lodge.