COACHELLA VALLEY
SUNDAY NIGHT CHEF FIGHTS
RESULTS
SUNDAY NIGHT CHEF FIGHTS
RESULTS
July 10, 2011 - Standards of Excellence, Rancho Mirage
vs.
WINNER
Base Ingredients
Protein: Sausage
Vegetable: Asparagus
G/S/D: Tortillas
Mystery: Grapefruit
Vegetable: Asparagus
G/S/D: Tortillas
Mystery: Grapefruit
Copley
Ayala
Creativity
347
351
Appearance
345
344
Taste
331
322
Final Scores
(65 Total Judges)
Wine A: 2009 Clean Slate Mosel (Germany) Riesling
22
Wine B: 2009 Venta Morales La Mancha (Spain) Tempranillo
17
Wine C: 2010 Omaka Springs Estates Marlborough (NZ) Sauvignon Blanc
9
Vino Vidi Vici Results
An epic, knock-out performance and some killer cuisine helped two-time Defending Champion Chef of Coachella Valley Andrew Copley to an exceptionally narrow victory over Challenger Chef Oscar Ayala and earned him a place in the Sunday Night Chef Fight Hall of Fame at last night’s Coachella Valley Sunday Night Chef Fight at the Standards of Excellence showroom in Rancho Mirage.
With his third consecutive Coachella Valley Chef Fight victory, Copley becomes the inaugural member of the Sunday Night Chef Fights Hall of Fame, a plateau that a few have come close to achieving but none have ever reached before. However, this Chef Fight was no cake-walk for the talented chef/owner of the eponymous Copley’s on Palm Canyon in Palm Springs. In front of a sold-out crowd of 70 hungry food lovers and members of the local media at the Standards of Excellence showroom, both Copley and his challenger Ayala, the exceptionally talented executive chef at Escena Lounge & Grill in Palm Springs waged a pitched culinary battle of grand proportions, each presenting a menu of three dishes that utilized the base ingredients of sausage, asparagus, and tortillas, as well as the mystery ingredient of grapefruit,
As Defending Champion, Chef Copley elected to cook first and finished nearly ten minutes inside his 35 minutes time limit with a menu that exemplified his Asian and European-influenced cooking style. He began with a three-item Chef Fight Sampler that included asparagus and sweet pea soup topped with saffron and vanilla foam; ahi taco tuna tartare tossed in a lime and grapefruit dressing and served in an Asian-style tortilla; and pickled asparagus with lobster, beet, and arugula salad. The second course was English-style bangers and mash, although Copley’s version of the British staple included a lightly-smoked, handmade seafood and chicken sausage, carrot and caraway seed ”mash,” caramelized fennel, and sweet onion, topped with a pink grapefruit Cointreau butter sauce. Finally for dessert, Copley prepared an apple and sausage Bunuelo which featured Granny Smith apples braised with sweet and spicy Mexican sausage in a cinnamon tortilla with housemade ginger and Kahlua ice creams and lavender coulis.
Chef Ayala then stepped into the kitchen and presented three dishes of his own that highlighted his Spanish and El Salvadorian roots and the robust colors and flavors highlighted on the menu at Escena Grill. He too finished well within the time limit. He began with a tortilla Espanola with housemade soy chorizo and Romesco sauce, garnished with fried sweet potatoes and micro greens. Chef Ayala then served his main entrée of lobster and scallop sausage, served over wild mushroom and asparagus risotto, and topped with red roasted pepper and saffron sauce and fried white asparagus. Finally, for his dessert he served up asparagus ice cream in a Sopapilla, with grapefruit Crème Anglaise, cilantro syrup, fruit salsa, candied grapefruit, and a mint and orchid garnish.
After the audience had the opportunity to taste and score both chefs’ dishes, it was time to reveal the results. In one of the closest tallies in Chef Fight history, Chef Ayala took the Creativity category with scores of 351 to 347; Chef Copley triumphed in Taste 331 to 322; and Copley squeaked out the victory by a single point, 345 to 344 in Appearance, securing the “threepeat,” the Coachella Valley Sunday Night Chef Fight trophy, and his place as the first Chef ever in the Sunday Night Chef Fight Hall of Fame.
As per Sunday Night Chef Fight Rules, Copley has been retired from further competition, so two new chefs (to be named later this month) will duke it out for the title and a brand-new trophy at the next Coachella Valley Sunday Night Chef Fight on Sunday, October 16 at the Standards of Excellence showroom in Rancho Mirage.
With his third consecutive Coachella Valley Chef Fight victory, Copley becomes the inaugural member of the Sunday Night Chef Fights Hall of Fame, a plateau that a few have come close to achieving but none have ever reached before. However, this Chef Fight was no cake-
As Defending Champion, Chef Copley elected to cook first and finished nearly ten minutes inside his 35 minutes time limit with a menu that exemplified his Asian and European-
Chef Ayala then stepped into the kitchen and presented three dishes of his own that highlighted his Spanish and El Salvadorian roots and the robust colors and flavors highlighted on the menu at Escena Grill. He too finished well within the time limit. He began with a tortilla Espanola with housemade soy chorizo and Romesco sauce, garnished with fried sweet potatoes and micro greens. Chef Ayala then served his main entrée of lobster and scallop sausage, served over wild mushroom and asparagus risotto, and topped with red roasted pepper and saffron sauce and fried white asparagus. Finally, for his dessert he served up asparagus ice cream in a Sopapilla, with grapefruit Crème Anglaise, cilantro syrup, fruit salsa, candied grapefruit, and a mint and orchid garnish.
After the audience had the opportunity to taste and score both chefs’ dishes, it was time to reveal the results. In one of the closest tallies in Chef Fight history, Chef Ayala took the Creativity category with scores of 351 to 347; Chef Copley triumphed in Taste 331 to 322; and Copley squeaked out the victory by a single point, 345 to 344 in Appearance, securing the “threepeat,” the Coachella Valley Sunday Night Chef Fight trophy, and his place as the first Chef ever in the Sunday Night Chef Fight Hall of Fame.
As per Sunday Night Chef Fight Rules, Copley has been retired from further competition, so two new chefs (to be named later this month) will duke it out for the title and a brand-
The Lowdown
COPYRIGHT © 2010 - 2011
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED