Left to right - Bill Kohl, President, Harrisburg Hotel Corporation and Chairman of the Conference Planning Committee, James Batterson, Sous Chef of the Sheraton Harrisburg, Dave Stoltzfus, Executive Chef of the Inn at Penn, Philadelphia, Chef Malcolm Halliday, Master of Ceremonies, Sysco of Central Pennsylvania, Michael Geary, Chef at the Holiday Inn, Allentown, Mark Pawlowski, Executive Chef of the Yorktown Hotel, York

PRESS RELEASE

Associations Announce Pennsylvania Iron Chef Competition Winners

  The PA Tourism & Lodging Association in partnership with the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, recently held their second annual Food & Beverage Conference, “Pennsylvania Home Grown”, at the Hilton Harrisburg.  The three-day event was produced with support from Capital Wine & Spirits, Great Wolf Lodge, Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, Hilton Harrisburg, Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Sysco of Central Pennsylvania, PA Preferred and the PA Tourism Office.

  While the Conference offered many segments including: “Dine About Harrisburg”, a keynote address by Joe Conti, COE of the PA Liquor Control Board, 12 informational workshops, a student “Culinary Career Day” attended by over 300 high school students from across the Commonwealth and a Food Show, the featured events were the Pennsylvania Home Grown Celebrity Chef’s Reception and Dinner and the Pennsylvania Iron Chef Competition.

  During the Pennsylvania Home Grown Celebrity Chef’s Reception selected members of the Pennsylvania Winery Association offered a tasting of their best wines. These included: Clover Hill Vineyards and Winery, Chaddsford Winery, Christian W. Kay Winery, Presque Isle Wine Cellars and Pinnacle Ridge Winery.  The Dinner offered four courses prepared by the very capable culinary team of the Hilton, using the recipes of and under the direct supervision of some very noted Chefs.  They included: Chef Walter Scheib, former Executive Chef of the White House and Culinary Partner with Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, Chef Mike Yancy of the Governor’s Residence, Chef Alison Barshak, Alison at Blue Bell, and Chef’s Daryl Harmon & Chad Durkin, The Waterworks, Philadelphia.

  The event closed with the 2008 Pennsylvania Iron Chef Competition. Sysco of Central Pennsylvania sponsored this event.  The Competition consisted of four teams with four chefs per team. Each team has less than two hours to complete a three-course gourmet meal and pair each course with a fitting wine selection. The teams stagger their starting times by fifteen minutes - that way no one is serving a cold dish! To make things more difficult, the competitors don’t know what all of their ingredients are. They are sent common pantry items about three weeks prior, but have to pull their proteins out of a hat on the day of the competition!

  The winning team of the 2007 Pennsylvania Iron Chef Competition defended their title, again winning this year for a second consecutive time.  This outstanding team includes: Michael Geary, Chef at the Holiday Inn, Allentown, Dave Stoltzfus, Executive Chef of the Inn at Penn, Philadelphia, Mark Pawlowski, Executive Chef of the Yorktown Hotel, York, James Batterson, Sous Chef of the Sheraton Harrisburg.

  Other competing teams included:

  Ricky Gross, Courtyard By Marriott, Downtown Philadelphia, Julia Ann Butterworth, Hotel Carlisle & Embers Steak House, Carlisle, John Martin, Cameron Estate Inn & Restaurant, Mount Joy, Michael Turano, Woodloch Resort & Country Club, Hawley.

  Charlie Gipe, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, Hershey, Joshua Short, Houlihan’s Restaurant & Bar, Hershey, James Woltman, Stock’s on 2^nd and Carley’s, Harrisburg, Jason Viscount, Bricco, Harrisburg.

  Jitendra Gulgule, Devon Seafood Grill, Philadelphia, Dan Brodeur, Brideur’s on State Street, Media, Matthew Stallings, Golden Sheaf, Harrisburg, Dawson Flinchbaugh, Flinshy’s, Camp Hill

Press Release Contact:

Mark L. Krotulski CHA
Director of Education
PA Tourism & Lodging Association
128 Walnut Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717) 232-8880 X102

markk@patourism.org

For more information on these events visit www.patourism.org/fb or call the PA Tourism & Lodging Association at (717) 232-8880