A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

It’s a wrap for the third annual Forbes Under 30 Summit here in Boston. The city was filled with celebrities, amazing young talent and yes, a cranberry bog.

On the second night of the summit, I attended the Under 30 Food Festival at the State House. Chefs traveled from all over the world to compete for the title of world’s best chef. Here is the list of participants:

• Alexandra Clark, Founding Chocolatier, Bon Bon Bon (Detroit)
• John Lasater, Executive Chef, Hattie B’s Hot Chicken (Nashville)
• Tyler Malek, Head Ice Cream Maker, Salt & Straw Ice Cream (Portland, OR)
• Aditi Malhotra, Founder and Chocolatier, Tache Artisan Chocolate (New York)
• Laura Meyer, Head Chef and Pizzaiola, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana (San Francisco)
• Jonah Miller, Chef and Owner, Huertas (New York)
• Jesse Schenker, Chef and Restaurateur, The Gander (New York)
• Kevin Fernandez, Strand Bistro @ Pulse Marriot Vacation Club (New York)
• Pooja Dhingra, Chef, Le15 Patisserie (Mumbai)
• Toni Toivanen, Chef, sandlådan (Denmark)
• Vinesh Johnny, Co-Founder/Chef, Founder of Lavonne Academy of Baking Science & Pastry Arts (India)
• Yasuhiro Fujio, Chef, La Cime (Osaka, Japan)

Laura Meyer of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana made a 5 grain autumnal focaccia with cranberries, thyme, bacon, and honey.

Kelvin Fernandez won the people’s choice award in the savory category with his arepa braised beef short rib with guacamole, pico de gallo, and lime scented crema.

My favorite savory dish of the night was the Hattie B’s Hot Chicken by John Lasater. My lips might still be tingling!

 

Winner of the judges choice was the beef and truffle donut by Henry Herbert of the UK’s Hobbs House Bakery. The line to get one of these was at least 30 people long!

Pooka Dhingra from Le15 Patisserie in Mumbia made chai hazelnut macarons topped with lemongrass foam.

We just missed Chrissy Teigen and husband John Legend as we got to Aditi Malhotra’s table. She owns Tache chocolate in lower Manhattan and made these delicious chocolate covered coco puffs (right) which Chrissy just loved (she loved them smooch she took a container home with her!)

My favorite thing of the night was Ritz cracker mock apple pie that was paired with candied apples and toasted walnut ice cream and Parmesan. It won the judges choice award for the sweets category. Now I just need to get myself to  Portland to head over to Tyler Malek’s Salt and Straw.

Alexandra Clark’s Bon Bon Bon won the people’s choice in the sweet category for the chocolate shot with a milk chaser (not shown).  I got to bring a few samples home with me for a late night snack. Top right and going clockwise: #25 Mustachio Moscato wine caramel, pistachio gianduja, #11 Bumpy Chocolate cake cream, buttercream frosting, #15 Better Butter Crunch Detroit’s favorite potato chips, milk chocolate, sea salt.

For a recap of the summit, check out the Forbes website here.

Disclaimer: I was given a press pass to cover the Forbes Under 30 Summit.

Tags: celebrity chefs, events, forbes, hosted