Chef’s Roll would like to wish all its members a very Happy New Year, and what better way to do so than by highlighting our Top Ten Most Awesome Chef’s Roll Opportunities of 2016! Last year we sent chefs to Australia with Meat & Livestock Australia and Belgium with Callebaut Chocolate. In 2017, Chef’s Roll member Nancy Manlove will be heading to Italy with Barilla, while KAABOO ROCK’N CHEF winner Steve Brown will embark on a Wagyu culinary tour of Japan courtesy of one of our ingredient sponsors, Satsuma Wagyu. Read on to find out more and JOIN CHEF’S ROLL to #rollwithus in 2017!
1. AUSTRALIA WITH TRUE AUSSIE BEEF & LAMB
In April, winner of the US Chefs Australia Tour 2016 contest Chef Aron Habiger traveled to Australia on an 8-day educational trip to learn how Aussie grass-fed beef and lamb are produced and prepared from paddock to plate:
Aron Habiger: “Many doors have opened since I’ve been part of Chef’s Roll – they are an incredibly strong team and offer a great sense of community. I was forever changed by the beauty of Australia and knowledge I acquired there after winning the competition. Aussie lamb really blows it out of the water by the way, I can’t go back to using anything else now!”
Photo by Chef’s Roll member Robert Sisca on the tour of Australia – Chefs flying by private jet! #rollwithus2. BELGIUM WITH CALLEBAUT CHOCOLATE
In August we sent 10 chefs to Belgium thanks to our Callebaut “Great Chocolate Stories” Contest.
Cheryl Wakerhauser: “I was ecstatic to find out I won. Visiting Belgium was very stimulating for my creativity – seeing the Callebaut factory first hand, tasting different bonbons in Brussels and Bruges and spending time with other chefs that share the same passion for chocolate as I do was an amazing experience.”
Karla Espinosa Torres: “When I first started following Chef’s Roll I never imagined it would lead to such great opportunities. After being fortunate enough to finish in the Top Ten of the Chocolate Stories competition and traveling to Belgium with Callebaut, I was able to apply what I learned there at Pastry Live 2016 in Atlanta, where I placed 2nd in the Signature Plated Dessert Competition. These experiences and accomplishments certainly would not have been possible without Chef’s Roll.”
3. ITALY WITH BARILLA PASTA
In 2017, National Pasta Month contest winner Chef Nancy Manlove will be traveling to Italy with Barilla.
Nancy Manlove: “Being an active member of Chef’s Roll has brought me numerous opportunities. The site allows me to get my whole culinary story and CV out to a busy world of food industry players including chef gigs, casting directors, investors, TV producers and everyone I want to be in front of. Not only have new clients found me via Chef’s Roll for serious elite gigs, but I have also reaped the rewards of many new industry friendships. I am beyond excited about winning the Barilla National Pasta Month contest and our upcoming trip to Italy – and I strongly encourage all chefs to take the time and invest in your future with Chef’s Roll!”
4. KAABOO ROCK’N CHEF
ROCK’N CHEF KAABOO champion Steve Brown not only landed a place at the World Food Championships (WFC) in Orange Beach, Alabama but a trip to Japan in 2017 thanks to one of our amazing product sponsors, Satsuma Wagyu.
Steve Brown: “From meeting the Chef’s Roll team at Chef’s Plate 9 in LA to competing in the KAABOO ROCK’N CHEF quarter finals using A-5 Satsuma Wagyu, the next thing I knew I was taking home the title of KAABOO ROCK’N CHEF 2016! After keeping in contact with Satsuma Wagyu representative Justin Rushlow I received sponsorship to attend the WFC in Alabama; upon returning from that I opened my signature restaurant Cosecha and partnered with Satsuma Wagyu on a five-course dinner featuring five different cuts from the same A-5 Wagyu cow. The Japanese Wagyu Beef Committee noticed my work and in February 2017 are taking me on an all expenses paid tour of the best Wagyu beef regions in Japan. While this amazing opportunity stems from hard work, dedication and out-of-the-box thinking, it would not be possible without the doors that Chef’s Roll opened for me! The possibilities are endless when you #rollwithus”
Chef Steve Brown (right) and his sous after taking the win.5. KAABOO SD REGIONALS + POLYSCIENCE
During the KAABOO ROCK’N CHEF San Diego Regionals Chef Phillip Esteban racked up some pretty impressive hits for his Facebook Live video, winning him an $1,800 PolyScience Control Freak in the process.
Phillip Esteban: “I believe that experiences help shape a young cook and Chef’s Roll has been a big proponent of creating those experiences. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to represent San Diego as a regional Chef at the KAABOO ROCK’N Chef competition. The on-stage presence, PolyScience Control Freak, quality of ingredients and the relationships with fellow peers made the competition a unique, first experience for me.”
6. CHEF’S PLATE EVENT SERIES
Last year we held seven of our traveling Chef’s Plate Event Series at locations across the country – from Napa to Houston to Boston. Executive Chef of the Carolina Club at UNC Ashleigh Scherman took home the win at Chef’s Plate 8: Avocado Madness in San Diego.
Ashleigh Fleming Scherman: “The experience of the competition was awesome. It was a real confidence booster in my skill set as a cook and pushed my abilities to think outside the box weekly with the recipe challenges. Winning was more than sweet. My dad and brother were able to accompany me to the live final, which made it all the more special of a win for me. When I came back to work at the University of North Carolina the Club family was very supportive – we had an avocado party and the University wrote articles about the competition. I was asked to write recipes for a few publications around town and even received a letter from the ACF president, Chef Thomas Macrina, congratulating me on the win.”
7. CENTER STAGE
In November we flew four talented young chefs to Los Angeles for the Center Stage competition final and the chance to win a one-month stage at a participating Michelin-starred restaurant. The Stage was ultimately awarded to Fatima Ali for her impeccable execution, focus and skill shown throughout a long day of individual and team challenges.
Fatima Ali: “Chef’s Roll is an online force to be reckoned with! To me, the community amongst hospitality professionals that Chef’s Roll fosters is incredibly inspiring. I am extremely proud of competing against some fantastic talent and relish the fact we are all still in touch. I’m excited to be a part of the Chef’s Roll family and am positive the company will only continue to grow in momentum.”
Logan Kendall: “Making it to the Center Stage finals was a huge step forward in my career. I was introduced to a lot of influential people, from Michelin-starred chefs to owners of chef-driven companies like True Cooks and Lost Car. I also qualified to compete in the 2016 World Food Championships. Just being featured on the Chefs Roll Instagram, my food and career has been exposed to 308K+ people, which is huge for a young chef. I now have opportunities to Stage and even work with some of our industry’s best chefs and couldn’t be more grateful.”
Brandon Duley: “Personally the Center Stage opportunity meant so much to me because nothing makes a chef stronger than healthy, positive competition. Networking with the Chef’s Roll and BMRS teams was amazing – everyone was so positive, and if I ever felt like I needed to reach out to any of them know that they wouldn’t hesitate to help.”
Joe Bott: “From start to finish the Center Stage experience was exciting. When I got the phone call that I was going to LA I didn’t know what to do – I almost didn’t believe it was real. Meeting Chef Jason McLeod, Carlos Garcia, Brad Metzger, Frans and everyone else has opened doors to a community that I’ve seen from the outside but had never been a part of.”
Listen to the podcasts from the event here:
(L-R) Center Stage finalists Joe Bott, Logan Kendall, Fatima Ali & Brandon Duley.8. CHEF’S ROLL AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
Each month new chefs are inducted into the Chef’s Roll Ambassador Program (CAP), their culinary creations published on Instagram, generating millions of impressions, and tens of thousands of likes and comments. Chef Ambassador Michael Langdon was even hired independently by one sponsor company for additional projects:
Michael Langdon: “I’ve been fortunate to work with Chef’s Roll over the last four years and have built fantastic relationships with companies all over the country as a result. One of the most incredible opportunities I got to enjoy was working with Arc Cardinal on their 2016 plateware catalogue. Overseeing food design on the front and back covers was a pinnacle of my career and one that would not have been possible without Chef’s Roll.”
9. MEREDITH MAY PUBLISHING PARTNERSHIP & MORE
Each month our partnership with Meredith May Publishing sees interviews with chef, sommelier and industry members featured in Tasting Panel Magazine, The SOMM Journal and farm-to-table focused publication, The Clever Root.
Wendy Shoemaker: “Somm’s List (Chef’s Roll’s sister network) has been such a powerful tool to increase my exposure. Highlights of my membership thus far include being featured in The SOMM Journal magazine, becoming a Chef & Sommelier ambassador, in addition to a featured speaker at SommCon where I was on a panel with two of my mentors.”
10. GOING GLOBAL
Along with the team’s fine art photographer, Josue Castro, Chef’s Roll co-founders Thomas Keslinke and Frans van der Lee traveled to Thessaloniki, Greece last September to attend and speak at the Worldchefs Congress. As a result of this developing partnership Chef’s Roll is thrilled to announce that we will be having a bigger presence at the 2018 Worldchefs Congress & Expo 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and St. Petersburg, Russia in 2020.
Chef’s Roll photographed 350 Chefs from 90 different countries while in Greece.“As evidenced above, 2016 was a stellar year for Chef’s Roll and our members. We had the pleasure of working with great culinary companies and amazing Chefs, Sommeliers and industry talent. Chef’s Roll was built with the mission to help culinary professionals promote and market themselves and their tireless hard work. We couldn’t offer the opportunities we do without the support of the many passionate food service companies we work with and in turn the loyalty and participation of our 15,000+ members from over 130 countries and our social media following of over 430,000. Continue to #ROLLWITHUS in 2017 – it’s going to be a delicious one!”
All our best,
Thomas Keslinke & Frans van der Lee
Chef’s Roll co-founders
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