Last Saturday, June 9th was an exciting day at the
SoCo Farmers' Market
in Costa Mesa as approximately 3,000 spectators gathered to cheer-on
the competing chefs as they used farm-fresh ingredients to create
unique, inspired dishes in 'The Farm to Food Truck Challenge III'. Six
gourmet food trucks rose to the challenge in their quest for the title
of "Top-Chop Truck":
Taco Maria,
Seabirds Truck,
Barcelona OntheGo,
Tamarindo Truck,
Chomp Chomp Nation &
Dos Chinos.
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| The Chefs from Taco Maria, Chomp Chomp Nation, Dos Chinos, Tamarindo Truck, Barcelona OntheGo & Seabirds Truck |
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| Live steel drum music drifted through the air as the crowds gathered for the Farm to Food Truck Challenge III |
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| A refreshing Blueberry-Lime Popscicle from the always-amazing Erin at Front Porch Pops |
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| The beautiful, farm-fresh produce of the SoCo Farmers' Market - We love any event that supports our local farmers! |
The
chefs were given a list of 'secret ingredients' from the judges just
minutes before the competition began - artichokes, brussel sprouts, pita
chips, fresh-squeezed orange juice, sage honey & zucchini squash
blossoms - all of which could be found at the stalls throughout the
farmers' market. They then were given 60 minutes to dash through the
market, collect their ingredients & prepare their unique dish to
present to the panel of judges.
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| The ladies of the Costa Mesa High School Cheer Squad kicked-off the festivities & rounded-up the crowds! |
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| Chef Carlos of Taco Maria |
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| The Chefs of Chomp Chomp Nation |
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| Chef Stephanie from Seabirds Truck |
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| The Chefs at the Starting Line |
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| And, they're off! |
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| The chefs dash through the market in search of farm-fresh ingredients |
It was a fantastic cast of judges who had
the difficult task of narrowing down the winners: Chef Andrew Gruel,
winner of the Farm to Food Truck Challenge II & Chef/Owner of
SlapFish; Mona Shah-Anderson, Owner of
Moxxe PR; Pastry Chef Santanna Salas from
Haven Gastropub; Kim Glen from the
City of Costa Mesa; Priscilla Willis, food blogger extraordinaire & author of
She's Cookin'; and Julie Lim of
OC Wine Mart & Tasting Bar.
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| The Judges: (From Left) Mona Shah-Anderson, Santanna Salas, Andrew Gruel, Julie Lim, Kim Glen & Priscilla Willis |
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| Left: Chef Andrew Gruel of SlapFish | Right: Pastry Chef Santanna Salas of Haven Gastropub, Haven Collective |
It was an intense competition with
beautiful cuisine coming out of every truck's kitchen. In the end, the
dishes were judged on three criteria: Utilization & creative use
of farm-fresh ingredients (50 points), Taste (30 points) &
Presentation (20 points). And the winners were:
- 3rd Place: Barcelona OntheGo with octopus three ways over artichoke-brussel sprout hash, saffron carrot
puree, orange beurre blanc, beer-battered squash blossom, and a jerez
vinegar pita crisp
- 2nd Place: Taco Maria with sage honey ricotta, apricot orange puree, black garlic aioli,
artichoke scented with coriander, baby squash and squash blossoms
- 1st Place: Seabirds Truck with an artichoke & cashew cream cheese-stuffed squash blossom over
a salad of baby mixed greens, summer cilantro, California cherries,
grilled brussel sprouts and pita croutons with a sage honey & orange juice vinaigrette
I don't know about you, but my
stomach is growling just reading the descriptions! Below, you can feast
your eyes on a story-told-through-photos from what I captured with my
lens during the event. And, stay tuned to the SoCo Farmers' Market Facebook & Twitter pages, as talks of the Farm to Food Tuck Challenge IV that will take place this Fall are already underway!....
Follow Anne Watson Photography on the Web, Facebook and Twitter
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| Behind-the-scenes inside the Tamarindo Truck with Chef Pedro |
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| Chef Stephanie of Seabirds workin' her vegan magic with farm-fresh produce |
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| Chef Jennifer of Barcelona OntheGo |
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| Inside the kitchen of the Barcelona OntheGo Truck |
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| Chef Carlos of Taco Maria prepares a perfect artichoke |
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| Inside the Taco Maria kitchen |
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| Chomp Chomp Nation's outdoor kitchen that allowed the scents to waft through the market |
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| The judges eagerly await the dishes |
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| The ladies of Costa Mesa High School Cheer delivered each dish to the judging booth |
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| Crowds gathered as the judging took place |
THE DISHES:
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| Tamarindo Truck |
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| Dos Chinos |
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| Chomp Chomp Nation |
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| Barcelona OntheGo |
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| Taco Maria |
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| Seabirds Truck |
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| Chef Stephanie Morgan of Seabirds Truck: 1st Place Winner of the Farm to Food Truck Challenge III |
