No Chef’s Surprises

With the Conejo Valley Days annual chili cook-off coming up April 18, some of you might be tossing around the idea of jumping into the spicy fray for the first time.

Not sure how to get involved, or want to learn more about the competition? Cook-off organizers will host a meeting April 5 to update would-be contestants on preparing for the charity fund-raiser.

The 6 p.m. meeting will be held in the conference room at Los Robles Bank in Thousand Oaks.

“The purpose of the meeting is to let people who are not really familiar with chili cook-offs find out what the rules are and give them an idea on how the day is going to shape up,” event organizer Michael O’Beirne said. “They need to know what’s going to happen and when, so they’re not completely lost.”

The cook-off, hosted by the Thousand Oaks Rotary Club, will be held at Conejo Creek Park. And while the regional event is sanctioned by the International Chili Society, O’Beirne is quick to mention that more than 70% of the cooks are local and nobody should be scared to participate.

“There are a few people who take part that travel around to different cook-offs, but they are in the minority at this event,” he said.

O’Beirne’s first tip to competition newcomers: Prepare the chili that the judges are looking for.

“A lot of cooks go into a cook-off and they think they have to make it real spicy-hot because the judges are looking for real hot--and that is not true,” he said. “Just make a darn good bowl of chili. That’s all you have to do.”

Keep in mind that competition chili does have one recipe demand: no beans allowed.

“Judges want to taste the chili and not get waylaid by the bean taste or any other fillers,” O’Beirne said. “So we’re going to teach them about using onions and chili powder and how not to go overboard.”

Following is a basic event day itinerary for competitors:

Each cook is provided a cooking space, plus a banquet table if they want it. Everything else, including cooking stove, must be self-supplied.

A cooks meeting will be held about 10 a.m.; chili ingredient preparation--the slicing and dicing, etc.--will commence at 11 a.m.

“They have an hour and a half to get their preparation done,” O’Beirne said. “Then three hours to do their cooking.”

By 3 p.m., contestants will bring their chili samples to the judging table.

O’Beirne said judges are guided by the instruction, “If you were to have one more chili to eat before you die, which one of these would you like to eat?”

Each cook will provide the judges two quarts of competition chili. Cooks will also be required to bring to the event two gallons of People’s Choice Award chili for general sampling. The charity makes its money from selling People’s Choice Award chili to eventgoers, who can cast ballots for their favorite recipe.

DETAILS

The Conejo Valley Days Chili Cook-Off ’99 information meeting will be held at 6 p.m. April 5 at Los Robles Bank, 33 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. The meeting and the April 18 chili competition are free, but each contestant must be a member of the International Chili Society. Contestants can join the society for about $30 the morning of the event. For more information, call Lloyd Mise at 390-7668.

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The folks who created The Club Cafes, the restaurants inside all Club Disney play centers, will add a feather to their caps with the April publication of Restaurant Hospitality.

The trade magazine awarded The Club Cafe an honorable mention in its 1999 Best Kids Menu in America Competition.

The annual competition consists of five categories: upscale, casual theme, family, quick service and hotels/resorts/clubs.

Each category had a first-place winner and one honorable mention. The Club Cafe received its award in the casual theme category.

The restaurant’s simple menu includes Mickey Mouse-shaped pizza, hot dogs, chicken tenders and sorcerer caps filled with French fries. “We wanted to make sure our food was familiar to kids,” said Shawn Mercer, food and beverage manager for Club Disney. “We stuck with the core items but made sure that every one of them was dynamite quality.”

The Club Cafe’s offering does not alienate parents, who can choose among such items as a cupcake developed by the Cheesecake Factory, Starbuck’s coffee, chicken Caesar salad and a roasted chicken sandwich.

Every night from 5 p.m. to closing, families of four can order the Magic Meal for $29.99. Included is a family-sized Mickey cheese pizza, four sodas, garden salads and four admissions to Club Disney. The Thousand Oaks Club Disney is at the Westlake Promenade. Call 777-8000 for more information.

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Chef Gael Lecolley and 66 California restaurant in Ventura will team to present what they hope to be a monthly series of winemaker dinners. The first installment will be Tuesday, featuring the wares of Los Olivos-based Zaca Mesa Winery.

Beginning at 6:30 p.m., dinnergoers will be greeted with a martini glass filled with fresh berries and 1997 Z Gris .

The complete menu:

Grilled quail salad with sweet-mix field greens and sherry vinaigrette, served with a 1997 Roussanne.

Seared ahi tuna with a Napa cabbage timbale, filled with tomato concasse and served with a 1997 Chardonnay Zaca Vineyard.

Peppered duck breast sauteed and served with three pastry swans finished with a syrah and wild-berry sauce, served with a 1996 Syrah.

The meal will finish with apricot tiramisu, served with a 1997 Viognier Late Harvest.

Zaca Mesa winemaker Benjamin Silver will be on hand to introduce and discuss each wine during the respective courses.

DETAILS

A winemaker dinner, prepared by Gael Lecolley and featuring selections from Zaca Mesa Winery, will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at 66 California restaurant, 66 California St., Ventura. Cost: $55 per person (includes tax, but not gratuity). Reservations required. For more information and reservations, call Wine & Food Catering Co. at 648-2051.

Rodney Bosch writes about the restaurant scene in Ventura County and outlying points. He can be reached at 653-7572, fax 653-7576 or by e-mail at: [email protected].