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Whipping up a Yamtastic Feast: Heat 4 wrap-up
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Written by J. Hansbrough
The fourth head-to-head matchup of the Chefs Challenge pitted Asheville’s Early Girl Eatery against A Moveable Feast Catering from Hendersonville, on the most subdued evening of the competition so far. With fewer diners attending than on previous nights, the outcome was decided by a razor-thin margin. When all the plates were cleared, A Moveable Feast had edged past Early Girl by 77 points out of a total of 3,933.
Providing a taste of Thanksgiving in June, each of last night’s sweet potato-infused courses tasted a little bit like dessert. Every dish carried the dulcet aroma of natural sugar, either contrasted with a salty meat, like pork, or paired with additional sweets like vanilla and bourbon for a candy-coated confection.
The team from A Movable Feast, led by Chef David Anthony Sparacino, served a somewhat muted line-up, with soft, delicate flavors and creamy textures. Providing the night’s best incorporation of the theme ingredient (and garnering the highest scores), the team offered pistachio-encrusted scallops atop a flaky, layered serving of sweet potato gratin, with sweet potato and corn poblano over dikon and arugula.
The Early Girl contingent, led by Chef John Stehling, added a little kick to the proceedings. Orange zest provided a citrusy tang to the team’s pork tenderloin dish, and the pairing of root vegetable fried pies with a sweet potato-ginger soup provided a tongue searing zing. Etiquette aside, the creamy soup proved to be a great dipping sauce for the triangular pies. They also topped things off nicely with the last course of the evening, a simple sweet potato pound cake with vanilla-bourbon whipped cream and glazed sweet potatoes.
In another close race, both teams whipped up inventive dishes under pressure to seamlessly integrate the theme ingredient. Here are each team’s dishes:
Team A Movable Feast:
Pistachio-encrusted scallops, and sweet potato gratin, and sweet potato and corn poblano with crab emulsion, arugula, dikon, and crispy leeks
Pork belly confit with sweet potato pomme frites, dill sabagnon, rosemary aioli, and oven-roasted grape tomatoes
Sweet potato brûlée and cinnamon crème anglaise with dried cranberries and mint
Team Early Girl Eatery:
Savory, root vegetable fried pies stuffed with carrot, celery, parsnip, and sweet potato, and sweet potato-ginger soup with red pepper cream and bacon
Pork tenderloin sweet potato pone with orange zest and cinnamon, sweet potatoes with apple and bourbon glaze, and sautéed chard, arugula, and garlic
Sweet potato pound cake with vanilla-bourbon whipped cream and glazed sweet potatoes
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