Make this winning dish
Pacific halibut by chef Chris Calhoun of the Hunt Room at the Desmond won this year's Philly Cooks competition. He shares his recipe with us.
Heavens! A suburban chef captured the Dish of the Year prize on Feb. 22 at the Philly Cooks event at the 33d Street Armory on Drexel's campus.
Chris Calhoun, the new chef at the Hunt Room at the Desmond in Malvern, whipped up poached Pacific halibut filet with tomato-orange braised lacinato kale, saffron aioli, pommes alumettes.
Winner of Best Appetizer was Ela chef Jason Cichonski for his whipped robiola bosina (it's a cheese, served with shortbtread, preserved kumquat and wild smoked mushrooms).
Winner of Best Entree was Valanni chef John Strain for his pan-seared Magret duck breast (with sweet potato and parsnip mash and coffee cocoa glaze).
Winner of Best Dessert was Ciao Bella Cakes' Stefanie Kitchner for a lemon gateau.
The competition and party, organized by Philadelphia Magazine, raised $20,000 for trhe Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House.
Want to create the halibut dish for yourself? I scored the recipe, and it's here. (The recipe, though time-consuming, appears to be a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, where "1" is boiling water and "10" is the Beef Bourguignon recipe in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child.)
Or: Just go to the Hunt Room. As of Thursday, it was on the menu ($29).