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Kristen Frost | Marketing & PR Associate
203-840-5467 | kfrost@reedexpo.com
New York, New York: We have a winner of the first ever Mussel Match Up Chef Competition held at the International
Restaurant and Food Service Show of New York and that is Chef Peter Dewar hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. The
competition was sponsored by the Mussel Industry Council (MIC) which represents the mussel producers in PEI, NS and
Newfoundland, Canada. Chef Peter has won many competitions including Competing Chef of the Year in Canada and is a
member of the Canadian culinary team competing at the Culinary Olympics in 2012.
Eleven contestants amazed the judges and the crowds with creative mussel dishes that were well presented and tasted
delicious. It was the Americans versus the Canadians with three chefs coming from PEI, NS and NF respectively vying against
8 very skilled American Chefs.
Chef Peter Dewar took on the challenge with only 30 minutes to prepare and present dishes for the judges and lots of samples
for the audience. His dish was called "Mussel Sheet" and consisted of four components - A tarragon flavoured mussel sheet,
covered with a tempura mussel with two side dishes of saffron mayo and pickled red onion.
The contestants were judged on five categories: menu presentation and adherence, taste, flavours and combinations,
presentation, and appropriate use of mussel product and creativity. Two judges from Canada Chefs Gordon Bailey and Roger
Andrews were joined by Hell's Kitchen's runner-up, Chef Kevin Cottle and Senior Food editor of the Nation's Restaurant News,
Bret Thorn. The range of dishes prepared by the competitor speaks to how versatile mussels can be and the pairings raised the
eyebrows of the audience, highlighting that mussels can be used in an endless array of dishes. "The engagement by competitors and the full audience's we received throughout the competition really is a testament to how
well orchestrated the competition was -- The professional high standards and strict rules around the competition, which was run
by Chef Allan Williams of the Canadian Culinary Institute, really drove interest excitement and buzz around Mussels!" says
Linda Duncan, Executive Director of the Mussel Industry Council.
The winner will receive a fantastic trip for two to Atlantic Canada valued at $10,000 in September 2011. The MIC was also
pleased to present a winner trophy to Chef Greg McCarthy of Beach Street Hospitality, New York for the most creative use of
mussels with his dish of PEI Mussels with Morels and Miso.
This is the first competition for chefs that the Mussel Industry Council has sponsored and it will not be the last – already there
are plans afoot on where the next Mussel Match Up competition will take place.
To discover more about Atlantic fresh blue cultured mussels, visit www.discovermussels.com.