A MOUTHWATERING WAY TO START THE YEAR!

ZESTFEST SPICY FOOD FESTIVAL

 

 The Irving Convention Center is Proud to Again Host the  ZestFest Spicy Food Festival for the 13^th Installment of What Has Become THE Food Event for Tens of Thousands of Annual Attendees in Search of Great Taste Adventures.

 

(Irving, TX) – The ZestFest Spicy Food Festival is back at the Irving Convention Center, outside of Dallas, Texas.  ZestFest is the mecca for all things flavorful, spicy, hot, extreme, and just plain “zesty delicious”.  From sauces to salsas, recipes to remedies, the whole ZestFest experience is built around the idea that “if it makes food taste great, then it must be good”.  The spicy experience is served up by the best spicy food producers and manufacturers in the country along with a cadre of top restaurateurs and celebrity chefs.   

ZestFest produced by Spicy Food Productions and presented by NBC and The Dallas Morning News, has steadily grown from a niche gathering to a national event, as a result of the enthusiastic and skilled leadership of ZestFest owner Greg Bagarozy.   Bagarozy stated, “this show is a big hit because each year our exhibitors surprise us with such great flavor and culinary creativity.”   

This year Mr. Bagarozy has invited Sarah Penrod, recently featured on the Food Networks’ “Next Food Network Star”, to be a guest chef and special spokesperson for ZestFest 2015.  Sarah will bring her “Lone Star Style” to the Celebrity Chef Stage where she will feature some of this year’s Fiery Food Challenge Winners in the food she prepares.  This will be a first for the nineteen year old Fiery Food Challenge.  Having a nationally known chef like Sarah feature some of the winners in the food she prepares live on stage will give a great brand building opportunity to those products.     

Besides Ms. Penrod, there will be plenty of action on The Celebrity Chef Stage through the weekend.  Sarah will be joined by some of the country’s top chefs conducting fully interactive cooking demonstrations with plenty of tastings to share with the crowd.  This year’s culinary stars include top chefs John Bonnell, Eduardo Alvarez, John Frank, Enam Chowdhury showing off the skills that have made them renowned in their field.   

There will also be a special Saturday Night extra session from 6pm – 8pm.  “Dinner at ZestFest” will treat attendees to a Pig and Rib Roast hosted by master chef and BBQ King, Eddie Deen, that will treat attendees to a great diner and a couple of beers for $15.            

The 2015 ZestFest Weekend will start on Friday, January 23^th at 1pm and run thru Sunday, January 25^th (times available at www.zestfest.HYPERLINK "http://www.zestfest.2013.com/"2015HYPERLINK "http://www.zestfest.2013.com/".com).  Live music and continuous demonstrations and exhibits throughout the weekend will make it a great weekend for everyone.  Back for 2015, will be the very popular “Wingstop Atomic Wings Eating Contest” and the Peoples Preference Awards.   Tickets are currently on sale at the aforementioned website and the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas box office. Price of admission covers all exhibits, competitions, and entertainment with the exception of the Big Eddie Dean BBQ on Saturday Night.  For the regular sessions, children under 10 are admitted free with a paid adult ticket.  Bring the family, come in from the cold, and prepare to taste some of the hottest and most flavorful foods from around the globe.

Sarah Penrod to add some Heat to Fiery Food Challenge

Attention Fiery Food Challenge Contenders - New Feature for Some of the Winners at ZestFest 2015!

Show producer, Greg Bagarozy has announced that the very popular up and coming star chef, Sarah Penrod will be a star of ZestFest 2015 and will be one of the Celebrity Chefs on the big cooking stage.  Sarah was recently featured on the Food Networks “Next Food Network Star”.  Besides acting as a special spokesperson for ZestFest for the 2015 show, Sarah will put the spotlight on some of the Fiery Food Challenge Winners by adding their heat to some special dishes she will cook up on the Celebrity Chef Stage. 

Sarah Penrod was born and raised in North Texas. She grew up on the stage performing in musical theater and singing country music. At 23 she left the world of entertainment to pursue her first love - cooking.

Sarah graduated from Scottsdale Culinary Institute in 2008 and hightailed it back to Texas, sharpening her skills at the opulent 4-star restaurants on the Riverwalk in San Antonio.  Within a year Sarah had become a celebrated South Texas private chef. Her clients included Eva Longoria, Tony Parker, Lyle Lovitt, Vicki Carr and the San Antonio Spurs.  During this time, Sarah hosted cooking segments on Great Day San Antonio, and headlined Food and Wine shows in the Texas Hill Country.

Sarah was invited to the White House for the launch of Chefs Move to Schools in 2010 and joined First Lady Michelle Obama’s fight to end childhood obesity.  Sarah is considered the “Hill Country Ambassador” encouraging other chefs to partner with school districts to bring about nutritional change and education in the school lunch program.

Sarah produced and hosted a local travel food show, Let’s Eat Houston - aimed at informing the wave of new Houstonians moving to the area where to get the best underground eats! 

In 2013   Sarah was invited by Food Network to be one of the 12 finalists on Season Ten of its hit show - Food Network Star. 

  

Here's something you'll like - Artisan Spice Blends from Sally Koepke and Mom's Gourmet

WELCOME to Sally Koepke and Mom's Gourmet to the ZestFest family of delicious product lines...

 

 Forbidden City Salad – Vegan, Vegetarian, Omnivores!

This came from my good friend Kim. She is always cooking up something delicious. This salad is fabulous, especially on a hot, summer day. Great for taking to a gathering as nothing in this recipe can spoil.  This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe from Epicurious.com.

Ingredients – this recipe includes peanuts so leave them out if you are allergic to them

 Ingredients

• 2 oranges
• 1/4 cup (or more) fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons Far Out Feather Dust
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups black rice (preferably Lotus Foods Forbidden Rice)
• Kosher salt
• 2 just-ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, cut into 1/2? dice
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup finely chopped red onion (about 1/2 large onion)
• 1/2 cup unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 jalapeños, seeded, minced

Instructions

1. Remove peel and white pith from oranges.
2. Working over a medium bowl to catch juices and using a small sharp knife, cut between membranes to release orange segments into bowl.
3. Squeeze membranes over bowl to release any juices.
4. Strain juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl; reserve orange segments.
5. Add 1/4 cup lime juice, oil, and fish sauce (if using) to bowl with orange juice; whisk to blend.
6. Set dressing aside.
7. Bring rice and 2 3/4 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan.
8. Season lightly with salt.
9. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 25 minutes.
10. Remove pan from heat and let stand, covered, for 15 minutes.
11. Spread out rice on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with dressing, and season lightly with salt; let cool.
12. Place mangoes and remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
13. Add rice and toss gently to combine. Season lightly with salt and more lime juice, if desired.

 

VISIT THE MOM'S GOURMET WEBSITE AT WWW.MOMSGOURMET.NET

What a Night!

Those of you living in or regular visitors to the Dallas area will know Sipango, which in the mid-1990s was perhaps the hottest restaurant in Dallas. The two people most closely associated with the success of Sipango and some other culinary ventures since are Chef Mathew Antonovich and his good friend, Ron Corcoran. While doing a little advance work for ZestFest 2015, taking place January 23-25 2015, show producer Greg Bagarosy with Next Food Network Star contender, Sarah Penrod, in tow got treated to some culinary magic at a party hosted by Corcoran and Antonovich.

The party took place at Corcoran's house and the meal was prepared by Chef Antonovich. For aspiring star chef Sarah, the real treat was hanging out in the kitchen with Chef Antonovich. Mr. Antonovich is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Johnson & Wales University. Antonovich has cooked at the James Beard House as a participant in the Discovery Series. He has been honored to cook for five United States Presidents. Presently Chef Antonovich is working on Memoirs of a Chef to tell his journey as a professional chef for 40 years and is still cooking today. Antonovich is an active food service advisor for a variety of fortune 500 companies and continues to create menus for some of the biggest names in the food business. He is constantly developing new food concepts for a variety of independent restaurant companies.

 

 

Chef Antonovich founded Culinary Concepts, MACC a food service advisory company in 1994. In 2008 Antonovich re-established the company in LouisvilleKentucky to develop new restaurant concepts. The company has developed a variety of new concepts to include; Sipango, Napa River Grille, Z’s Oyster Bar & Steak House, III Forks Steak House, Mozz, Mozzarella Bar & Enoteca and Mozzaria, Italian Eatery & Birreria Gastro Pub. Antonovich consults for Fortune 500 food companies doing menu research & development. The company provides a variety of culinary services to include, new produce development, bench work ideations and creative menu and product development. Other projects include developing a wholesale Artisan Bakery and Fast Casual Pizzeria & Artisan Salad concept in the works. In 2010 Antonovich founded an upscale Italian concept called MOZZ, Mozzarella Bar & Enoteca. The restaurant was voted "Best New Restaurant 2011" by Louisville Magazine.

Born a couple of years apart in the same New York hospital, Corcoran and Antonovich first met in California in the 1980s, when both worked at the famed Hotel Bel-Air. Antonovich had taken over the lease of an nearby apartment and needed a roommate. He heard that the hotel had just hired a new room service manager who happened to be Ron Corcoran. Corcoran had just moved from Texas and was looking for a place to stay. The pair moved in together and quickly became great friends. Their careers took them off on separate paths for many years until they eventually ended up in Dallas, where they co-launched Sipango in March 1994.

Needless to say, Greg and Sarah got treated to a lot of great food and conversation. What a huge opportunity for Ms. Penrod to have the chance to gain some knowledge and inspiration from Ron and Mathew, two true stars of the restaurant and culinary worlds. Maybe we'll get them to pay us a visit at ZestFest this coming January.

The Story Behind Another Great ZestFest BIG FLAVOR Brand

My name is Keith Weeks, and I was born in 1960 to a family in South Georgia. I currently live in Richardson, Texas with my wonderful wife Sarah. My family began making our homemade BBQ sauce sometime in 1961 or 1962, and some of my fondest memories of childhood are of my sister and me endlessly stirring that sauce in our family’s old cast iron kettle during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Moved to Texas in the early 1980's and continued to make the BBQ sauce at Thanksgiving and Christmas to give away to friends and family. Everyone always said, "Keith, you should sell that wonderful BBQ sauce". In 2012 with the help of my amazing wife Sarah, we contacted a co-packer and started bottling. It been a huge hit – KW's BBQ Sauce has been selling like hotcakes.

KW’s BBQ sauce is the real deal – an old-fashioned recipe that is slow kettle cooked that offers an explosion of flavor. KW's Original BBQ Sauce is tangy with a spicy bite of heat. KW's Sweet & Spicy BBQ Sauce starts out with a sweet flavor followed by a spicy bite of heat. KW's BBQ sauce is more than just another condiment. KW's BBQ Sauce has Georgia roots and it's mustard based which gives barbecued meats a whole new twang. It's made with cane sugar, gluten free, no soy, no dairy and no animal by products in KW's BBQ Sauce. Enjoy KW's BBQ Sauce on pulled pork, smoked pork ribs, grilled and smoked chicken, smoked beef brisket, grilled steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ chicken pizza, french fries, wild game, anything and everything covered in this homemade BBQ sauce. It’s a family tradition brought to life by real people who love great food as much as you do.

KW's BBQ Sauce was chosen as a vendor for Central Market Gourmet Grocery Stores in Texas and this is an incredible honor – only a select few are chosen, and they have to meet stringent requirements. Central Market decided that my locally made sauce was definitely good enough for their discerning customers. KW's BBQ Sauce is available in all Central Market stores through out Texas.

Here's a favorite of ours you will really enjoy:



Recipe:

KW's Smoked Baby Back Ribs
2 Racks of Baby Back Ribs

1 Bottle of KW's BBQ Sauce

Smoker

Apple Wood (or your choice of wood)

• Wash off and remove the silver skin off of the baby back ribs.
• Pour 1/2 to 3/4 cup of KW's BBQ Sauce all over the ribs (front and back) and rub in the BBQ sauce all over the ribs. There is no need to season the ribs (unless you want more season) because the BBQ sauce is full of seasons and flavor.
• Put the ribs on the smoker with the back skin side down, meat side up.
• Smoke at 225 degrees uncovered (no tin foil) for 2.5 hrs then increase temp to 260 degrees and smoke uncovered (no tin foil) for 2.5 more hrs. Total 5 hrs.
• Remove and serve with more KW's BBQ Sauce

KW's BBQ Sauce will be sampling their delicious flavor the coming January at ZestFest 2015 - we are very pleased to have them and you will too!
 
For more info visit
http://kwsbbqsauce.com/

Slow Cooked to Perfection

Bring home the authentic Southern flavor with KW's Original BBQ Sauce or KW's Sweet & Spicy BBQ Sauce. Our 50 year old recipe is slow kettle cooked with all-natural ingredients.

ZestFest is a Great Place to Build Your Brand!

 

 

One of our ZestFest exhibitors is in the running for the new Food Network Challenge show.   Kramer's Gourmet.

 

 From their ZestFest Booth

 HOME BASE: HOUSTON

Lone Star Chuck Wagon
Lance has competed in BBQ competitions for years and has won against trained chefs. He's even developed his own line of BBQ sauces and rubs. With the support of his wife, Rachel (left), and their best friend, Andrea, he's ready to bring big Texas-style home cookin' to hungry people everywhere.



http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-great-food-truck-race/contestants/lone-star-chuck-wagon.html

The Road to The Great Food Truck Race

In our house, The Food Network is usually on all day long! I grew up watching the network, and I have learned a ton from it. From Bobby Flay, to Tyler Florence, it has been a wealth of knowledge. My favorite show growing up in Texas was “Tyler’s Ultimate.” Tyler would take relatively well known dishes, and teach us his “ultimate” version. Little did I know, a few years later, I would be showing Tyler “Lance’s Ultimate.”

Tyler Florence is the host on The Great Food Truck Race, and we were lucky enough to be chosen as a competitor for Season 5. On the show, eight teams are given their very own food truck to compete in a head-to-head, cross-country battle. Each week, we were pitted against each other in a sales battle in different cities across the country. Whichever team has the lowest sales at the end of the week, has to turn in their keys, and take “the long, lonely trip back home.”

The last team standing wins $50,000, and their very own food truck! I’ve watched every season of GFTR, and I was confident we had the skills to be a serious competitor. I chose my wife Rachel, and our great friend Andrea as my teammates. We have worked together in the same restaurant for over 4 years. With this experience, we all speak the same lingo, and know how to communicate well with each other. We are comfortable with high volume, and stressful situations.

I knew I put together the perfect team! But this show was much more difficult than ever imagined! With the long hot hours on the truck, and seemingly impossible situations we were put in, we had our hands full! I cannot wait for you all to share the crazy journey with us on The Food Network!

Check it out on Sunday nights, only on The Food Network! (Season premiere August 17th).

http://rubresponsibly.com/the-blog/

A Next Food Network Star at ZestFest 2015?

The "Next Food Network Star" competition on the Food Network recently wrapped up with Lenny, the Gourmet Cowboy getting a show.  As usual, there were several very good chefs in the mix and we may see if we can get one or two of them to pay a visit to ZestFest 2015.  Some good promotional opportunities might come out of this if we do it and it would be sure to add some extra fun to the show.

We would like to know your pick for who you would most like to have at ZestFest in January.  Click the link below and take the survey - please leave any comment you would like as well.  Thanks for your input.

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e9oij5yghyojqjqc/start

ZestFest's Greg Bagarozy with Sarah Penrod, who finished 4th