Cooking up sustainability for Iron Chef Jose Garces

Recently, Entegra hosted the 2024 Culinary Innovation Challenge, a competition that asked chefs to display their love of food and their cooking chops.

The chefs had to submit a craveable, on-trend, innovative, sustainable entree that celebrated creativity, ingenuity and the use of diverse ingredients and cooking techniques. The dish had to also be mindful of food waste by utilizing trimmings, by-products or repurposing ingredients. Most importantly, the dish needed to taste delicious, look beautiful and drive sales.

Eighty-four contestants entered the contest. Two made the final cut and got to prepare their signature dishes for the judges and a live audience:

• Finalist, Chef Caroline Juba, Champion Hills Country Club Golf Course
• Finalist, Chef Jon Dubrick, Executive Chef in Sodexo's Culinary Innovation Center
• Judge, Chef Jose Garces, Restaurant Owner and Iron Chef
• Judge, Chef John Csukor, Head Chef of Entegra Culinary Consulting
• Judge, Chef Richard Arakelian, Sodexo

Culinary creativity reflected Entegra’s sustainability commitment

One of the mandates of the competition was to create dishes that centered on sustainability, a core pillar of Entegra’s business. Both chefs presented recipes that leaned into plant-forward entrees with sustainably sourced ingredients.

Chef Juba prepared lentil-stuffed mushrooms with orange Romesco and arugula oil, while Chef Drubrik made maple-miso glazed sweet potatoes with Beluga lentils and minted yogurt. Chef Juba used her food scraps in vegetable stock to add extra flavor to her poached mushrooms. Chef Drubrick created an entirely zero-waste dish, even keeping the peel on the sweet potatoes.

When asked what inspired her, Chef Juba cited her time as a vegetarian and cooking for her sister who ate a strict vegan diet. She said she sees “beauty in vegetables” and her recipe was a testament to this. Her stuffed mushroom floated in orange-colored Romescu sauce ringed by a vibrant green arugula oil.

Chef Drubrik cited his love of Asian flavors. “I’ve been influenced by my wife’s culture and cuisine and cook a lot of Asian-inspired dishes at home,” he said. He brought that inspiration with his miso-glazed sweet potato.

The chefs conferred and chose a winner

The finalists prepared and plated their dishes within the 45-minute timeline, presenting beautiful recipes that gave the judges a difficult job. “This was a tough deliberation,” said Chef Garces. “The scoring was really tight.” After several tense minutes, Chef Garces announced the winner: Chef Drubrick. He won a trip for two that includes a culinary tour of Miami.

While the Culinary Innovation Challenge was fun, ultimately, highlighting the business viability and taste appeal of sustainable food was the most important message. Both chefs delivered on that mandate, creating craveable, sustainable dishes that can be served to customers.

Download Entegra’s guide to sustainability with tips to help you integrate best practices throughout your business. And, for additional information on culinary innovation, visit Entegra Culinary Consulting.