On
September 30, the Sonoma County Harvest Fair will host its annual awards
night, and several Healdsburg restaurants will be among the most prolific
winners.
Costeaux
Bakery will receive two of the fair's highest honors taking Best of
Show in the French Bread and Specialty categories. Bear Republic will
receive 19 awards including four double gold.
The
Harvest Fair used a Danish judging system. Each item is ranked independently
and awarded a bronze, silver or gold ranking by each judge on the tasting
panel. Any item that receives a gold ranking from all its judges is
awarded a double gold. All double gold items in a category are gathered
at the end of the day and an overall best of show is determined.
Judges
are provided with appropriate vehicles for tasting entries to simulate
the restaurant experience. Anne Vercelli, the Fair's Professional Food
Judging Coordinator, said she provided greens for the salad dressings,
chips for salsa, cooked pasta for pasta sauce, ice cream for chocolate
sauce and chicken for barbecue sauces. “It's done the real life
way the customer will taste the product,” she said.
Will Seppi is Costeaux's general manager and grew up in the bakery after
his parents purchased the Costeaux business in May of 1981. They entered
the Harvest Fair in October of 1981 and won the bread competition with
a sourdough roll that they still make today.
Costeaux
won Best of Show for their French Country loaf. Seppi described it as
“a hearty two pound loaf, made with sourdough, whole wheat and
rye.” Seppi said his father developed the loaf with several customers.
A multigrain
loaf took best of show in the specialty category. Seppi said the bakery
had been producing the multigrain loaf for about four months, also at
the request of customers. Costeaux produces the bread in a loaf, roll
and batard.
Seppi
has been managing Costeaux for about two years. He grew up in Healdsburg
and eventually went to the East Coast for college. After returning to
the Bay Area as an accountant he recently returned to the family businesses.
“It's
nice to be recognized for the products that we are making,” he
said. “For us its bread that we're making day in and day out,
that's available in our retail store. For us to be able to share that
is great.
“It
really is a big, big win. To win both is just a fabulous and they also
brought home seven golds,” said Vercelli.
Head
chef Shawn Thomas of Bear Republic credited his southern inspired dishes
for the restaurant's success. Bear Republic won double golds for a hot
soup and three sauces.
Thomas
described the double gold winning She Crab Soup as the Southern staple.
“We make it with sherry and it's quite unique and quite good,”
he said. The Bear's Carolina style mustard Barbeque sauce also took
a double gold. Thomas said the sauce is served with pulled pork and
the combined dish was the first pulled pork dish in the area.
Thomas
was particularly proud of the award for his Jamaican jerk sauce. Thomas
said the sauce was very a labor intensive but worth the work. The chef
combines vinegar, green onions, molasses and a secret spice blend, reduces
the sauce by about a third before serving it on the Jamaican hamburger.
The
final double gold recipient was the restaurant's garlic vinaigrette
salad dressing, made with whole roasted garlic and olive oil. Thomas
said the dressing was a standard option available at the restaurant.
Thomas
grew up in the Healdsburg area before moving to Charleston South Carolina
to become a chef. He operated his own catering business and worked in
local restaurants before returning to Healdsburg and bringing his Southern
dishes to the Bear.
Thomas
reenters some dishes every year, like his Fried Green Tomatoes, to showcase
the unique nature of Southern cooking.
The
Bear, a microbrewery with several award winning beers, took a silver
for its wine list. “The other amazing thing is, we're a beer place,
and got a silver for our wine list.”
Thomas
said all the items served at the fair are identical to those served
in the restaurant. He took samples of his sauces from batches already
prepared at the Bear and prepares all his entrees in the restaurant's
kitchen. “What you get at the fair is what you get at the restaurant,”
he said.
Vercelli
said the winners really deserved praise. “They've worked so hard
and come out so meritorious,” she said.
Other
Healdsburg area winners included Hoffman House Café, Michel-Schlumberger,
Nit's Creations Thai Catering, River Rock Casino, Terra Sonoma Food
Co. and diVine Pizza Co.
Tickets
are available for the Awards Night Gala from the Fairgrounds Administration
Office at 1350 Bennett Valley Rd., Santa Rosa or online at www.harvestfair.org.
The $65 tickets provide the opportunity to taste the silver and gold
foods along with samples from the over 900 wine entries.
