Cambridge, MA . . . (February 24, 2011) This past Sunday, February 20th was all about the other red meat, when seventeen chefs, eight brewers and two wineries were on hand for the Second Annual Lamb Jam at The Charles Hotel. Over 500 fans of lamb came out of the woodwork to baaask in the lamby love. This year's Jam was a raucous success, as emcee TV Diner's Billy Costa noted, "selling out in less than two weeks."
 |
|
Best in show winner Jason Santos with BostonChefs.com CEO Paul Schiavone
|
In celebration of all things lamb, chefs competed against one another in four cut categories -- leg, loin, shoulder and shank -- to see who would take the ultimate prize of Best in Show and carry on to compete against the Seattle, DC and San Francisco winners at the New York cook-off.
"Lamb jam might be my new favorite event" gushed Jason Santos of Gargoyles on the Square, who took the top title with his dish Poached Lamb Loin with Black Truffle, Cauliflower Espuma, Bee Pollen and Fried Garlic. "Lamb is one of my favorite things and I'm just glad people enjoyed it as much as me.
I can't wait to head to NYC to see if I have what it takes to be the king of all things lamb."
Chef Brian Reyelt of The Franklin and Citizen remarked on the event's convivial atmosphere: "It's always such a great crowd. It just seems like a lot of happy people drinking beer and eating lamb." Drawing inspiration from the Jam's lively spirit, he decided to take a different approach to traditional tasting plates, winning the leg category with Lamb Jerky 3 Ways. "As a chef it's always great to see people enjoy what you've created but this year we thought we'd have some fun - I mean, what's better with beer than jerky?"
Cedric Daniel, Owner of Rapscallion Brewery couldn't agree more with the lamb and beer loving sentiment: "I've never participated in an event that exposed our beer to such a targeted and influential audience. It's had a direct impact on getting our beer out to Boston's best restaurants." Not only is his beer now being served at participating restaurant Henrietta's Table, but it actually found its way into one of the evening's dishes, with a Rapscallion honey mustard gracing Pain D'Avignon's lamb frankfurter.
 |
|
TV Diner host Billy Costa with Brian Reyelt of Citizen
|
It seems that people just can't get enough of this winning pair. Chef Reyelt, for one, is already thinking about defending his title: "It's a real pleasure to be involved and next year, I hope to play again." If all this goodwill is any indication, it looks like this collaboration between BostonChefs.com and the American Lamb Board, much like a good piece of jerky, will only get better with age.
BostonChefs.com, "The Insider's Guide to Dining in Boston," is an online community of the area's best dining destinations and top culinary talent. Featuring nearly 150 of the best restaurants in Greater Boston and beyond, it provides comprehensive information on each dining destination-including menus, photos, chef bios, hours of operation, and restaurant background-and the most complete and up-to-date calendar of local food, wine and restaurant events available anywhere. BostonChefs.com, together with its sister sites RestaurantWeekBoston.com and CapeCodChefs.com, is one of the most heavily trafficked and rapidly growing online dining destinations in the region.
