On Tuesday night, DineLA held the final round in their Quickfire series. Four chefs had won a series of challenges and now they were all gathered at Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill for the finals. And the twist? They were to make pastry. The previous week, I judged the taco competition, which Eric Greenspan of the Foundry won. This time they pulled out the big guns – the judges were Sherry Yard, legendary pastry chef of Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants, Russ Parsons of the LA Times and Evan Kleiman, whom you all know well. The competitors were Mark Peel (Campanile & The Tar Pit), Eric Greenspan (The Foundry), Octavio Becerra (Palate Food & Wine), and Akira Hirose (Maison Akira). Eric Greenspan won for his Peanut Butter Moonpie with a Banana-Bacon Compote filling. He said he was inspired by Elvis. I brought my microphone and you can hear the full experience this week on Good Food.
Octavio Showing off his Epoisses for Fox 11
The Competitors
Good Food Pie Contest Winner Yuichiro Sato
Akira Hirose’s Poached Figs and Ice Cream
Mark Peel’s Peach Upside-down Cake
Octavio Becerra’s Grape Clafoutis with Epoisses
Eric Greenspan’s Peanut Butter Bacon and Banana Moonpie
The Winner