It was a tough choice to make, to determine the best entry: a beautifully designed beer-cheese BLT soup by Jack Riebel of Butcher & the Boar, or a fragrant three-course meal of an heirloom tomato salad with charred-tomato vinaigrette, a trout and vegetable tagine, and a chilled melon soup for dessert from Sameh Wadi of Saffron. That was the decision the judges had to make Saturday during the Chef Challenge at the Minneapolis Farmers Market, an event held in multiple cities, sponsored by Country Financial and, here, the Minneapolis Farmers Market.
The chefs had 20 minutes to find their foods of choice at the market, and $50 to spend, followed with 30 minutes to prepare their dish. Jack and Sameh raced through the aisles of the very crowded market (or at least they tried to; it was tough to get customers to move out of the way), grabbing the tomatoes, cantaloupe, trout, bacon, bread and more to be used in the prep.
Jack, at right, relied on what he called "the three killer 'Bs' for his dish: beer, bacon and bread. Each chef was allowed to bring two ingredients to the event. Jack brought vinegar and beer; Sameh also turned to vinegar, as well as his own spice blend.
"This is more stressful than Iron Chef. It's Jack Riebel," said Sameh at the start of the competition. By 11 minutes from deadline, Jack noted, "Stress, stress, stress."
But neither seemed too stressed; they were calmly -- though hastily -- at work, focused on the end results.
I was one of the four judges, who included food blogger Stephanie Meyer and WCCO-TV weekend anchors Matt Brickman and Jamie Yuccas.
Take a look for yourself at the completed dishes. Jack cooked and plated a stunning soup in the very formal, elegant method of first presenting the soup ingredients without the broth, then at the table slowly pouring in the liquid. No matter how many times I've had soup presented this way, it makes me swoon. See the tomatoes, maple-glazed bacon and green onion? That's a slice of gouda atop the bacon and the mild beer-cheese broth also uses the cheese. It was a real stunner. Here's how the dish was initially served before the liquid was added, followed by a photo after the addition of the beer-cheese broth.
Deconstructed BLT Soup
Serves 4.
From Jack Riebel of Butcher & the Boar. Beer Cheese Soup: • 2 tbsp. chopped garlic • 1½ c. chopped onion • 1 tbsp. olive oil • 1 tsp. salt • 48 oz.. (6 c.) beer • 3 c. Gouda cheese, grated • 3 c. Havarti, grated Tomato and bacon garnish: • 8 slices bacon (Riebel used Thielens) • 1 c. diced bread • 1 lb. heirloom tomatoes, blanched and cut into large pieces • 2 tbsp. maple syrup, divided • 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar, divided • Salt and pepper • 1 tbsp. olive oil, or to taste • 1 sprig fresh basil • 1 green onion, sliced thin • 1 jalapeno sliced thin Directions Sweat garlic, onion, olive oil and salt over low heat just until sizzling. Add beer and simmer 10 minutes.
Pour into blender and blend until smooth. Add cheese and blend until smooth. Pass through strainer; set aside. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan set over medium high heat, brown bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towel and drain. Reserving the fat in the pan, return pan to heat and add diced bread and cook until crisp but not burned. Add oil if necessary. Season with salt and pepper, and reserve. Place tomatoes into a bowl ; stir in 1 tablespoon each of maple syrup and vinegar. Season with salt, pepper and olive oil to taste. Tear basil leaves and stir into tomatoes. Place the remaining vinegar and maple syrup into the sauté pan. Return to heat. Add cooked bacon and stir, reducing liquid to a syrup. Season liberally with pepper and reserve. To assemble: Divide tomatoes among 4 bowls. Garnish with bacon, croutons, green onions and sliced jalapenos. Pour beer-cheese soup around edges, and serve.
