Eric Perkins

Sea Urchin Soup

Here's what I love about my job. Monday I got to go to Blaine and race a NASCAR driver in Go-Karts. Now today, I got to judge a culinary contest, and eat foie gras. That's variety.

It was the US Foodservice Epicurean Experience Culinary Competition. I was one of the 3 judges sampling the delectable eats, and then grading them on taste, plating, and originality.

The event was held at the Minneapolis Convention Center, and there were hundreds of vendors, purveyors and foodies there.

The host of the program was Guy Fieri of the Food Network. Currently, he's the darling of the network with 2 hit shows, and another in the works. Cool cat for sure.

How I got to be on an esteemed panel of judges, I'm still trying to figure out, but whatever.

The competition involved 3 phenomonal chefs. One from Yum! One from Pazzaluna. And one from Stone Ridge Golf Club in Woodbury.

The executive chefs of those respective establishments, had 30 minutes to cook us an appetizer. Another 30 to serve up an entree, and then another 30 to fire up a dessert.

This was some serious 5 star eating we were doing. I ate walleye, lobster, mussels, pork tenderloin, pork sausage, sea urchin soup, foie gras, caviar, rissoto, flan, cake, and on and on and on.

In the end, Rino Baglio the chef at Pazzaluna was the grand winner.

And me, I was just full. But very content.

perkout

ps- Congrats to our Executive Sports Editor Bea Chang and her husband Kevin on the birth of their beautiful baby girl Makenna!