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2008
Cook-Off Winners: Chef
Gerard Clinton from the Bridge House in Milford, first place;Chef Bert
Bebjunas, Scribners in Milford, third place; and Anna Rauch from Anna's
Temptations in Guilford, second place. |
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A
Restaurants & Caterers Competition
The 34th Annual Milford Oyster
Festival Committee announces the Winner of
the 2008 Oyster Cook-Off: Bridge
House.
The Cook-Off was held at the Milford Elks
Hall,
124 New Haven Avenue, Milford on Monday, July 21, 2008.The
East Coast Shellfish Growers Association & Island Creek Oysters
donated the gourmet quality Island Creek Oysters
from Duxbury, Mass., for the competition.
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Chef Gerald Clinton demonstrated
his talent for fine, elegant food with
this beautiful presentation and fabulous tasting selection of
oysters. |
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First Place went to The Bridge House and Restaurant. The Bridge House is located in the Devon section of Milford, opened in December 2007 to well deserved, rave reviews. The Bridge House,
a Gastropub, a concept known through Europe, features a casual,
relaxed atmosphere with menu choices of a quality found in the best
fine dining establishments.
Chef Gerard Clinton
demonstrated his talent for fine, elegant food on Monday night. Chef
Gerard served the panel of 10 judges an Oyster Tasting. The oysters not
only tasted fabulous but the presentation was beautifully, simplistic.
A well deserved First Place for Chef Gerard and the Bridge House. |
Second Place went to
Anna's Temptations. Anna's Temptations, a charming cafe located in
Guilford CT., serving contemporary cuisine in a setting of antiques is
great fun. Anna Rauch, owner/chef and her team were last year's first
place winners and are planning to take the title back at the 2009
Cook-off competition. Chef Anna's menu was titled
Oysters..Oysters...All Day Long. As usual, Chef Anna'a food was unique
and the presentation outstanding.
Third Place went to Scribner's. Scribner's has been serving outstanding
seafood to its clientele for over 34 years. Scribner's is located on
Village Street in Milford - hard to find but worth the search. Ask any
Milfordite. Chef Bert Benjunas presented Crab & Artichoke Stuffed
Oysters with Roasted Red Pepper Coulis. A beautiful, simple, delicious
oyster presentation. Hopefully this appetizer will soon appear on
Scribner's menu.
Special thanks for our 2008 Judges:
Jay Pinto, Oyster Festival President; Chris Brown, Driector, Milford
Lab; Marti Reed, Owner, Canvas Patch; Jim Birarelli, Birarelli
Insurance; Vincent Farricielli, Two Guys; Robert Modena, Two Guys;
Susan Shaw, Collected Stories; Susan Ashelford, Given to Gauche; Lynn
Veccharelli; VA Nurse; Ken Crapeau, Milford Elks.
A great time was had by all as samples were passed throughout the
spectators who enjoyed the delectable delights. Who knew oyster were so
very tasty... many are looking forward to the Annual Milford Oyster
Festival which includes a shucking contest and an oyster eating
contest! Be there or be square! Saturday, August 16th at Fowler
Field.
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Special
thanks to Island Creek
Oysters, Duxbury, Massachusetts, for donating the fresh, delicious
oysters for the Cook-Off. The company's oysters were named overall
winner in this year's National Shellfish Association's Invitational
Tasting Competition held in Providence. Also to Linda McIntryre, owner of the Villa Gourmet, for
donating the appetizers for the event. Located at 9 River St. in Milford, CT, the Villa Gourmet, a specialty
food shop with a wonderful cheese selection and delicious prepared
food.
Visit
their websites: Island Creek
Oysters
& The Villa Gourmet |
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| Cook-Off Participants |
Bridge House
A Gastropub -
casual atmosphere, a fine dining experience. 49 Bridgeport Ave.,
Milford, CT 203-878-2800
Visit
their website: Bridge House |
Anna's Temptations
A cafe with a
mix of contemporary food and charming antiques. Boston Post Road,
Guilford, CT 203-453-1046
Visit
their website: Anna's Temptations |
Scribner's
The place for
seafood in Milford for 34 years. 31 Village Rd., Milford, CT,
203-877-7019
Visit
their website: Scribners |
Cookin' Dinners
Offers
three ways to get great dinners; delivered; we assemble - you pick up;
you assemble in our kitchen.
250 Westport Ave., Norwalk, 06851,
203-849-8800
Visit their website: Cookin'
Dinners |
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| Official
Annual Milford Oyster Festival Cookoff Rules |
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Guidelines:
The competition is open to all area
restaurants and caterers, but due to space restraints it will be
limited to a
maximum of 10 participants. Each
participating restaurant or caterer will prepare one appetizer, soup or
stew to
be judged by a panel of guest judges. A
single appetizer can consist of up to three oysters and if desired the
oysters
can be prepared in different but complementary fashion.
The East Coast Shellfish Growers
Association will provide
fresh gourmet quality oysters on a complimentary basis the evening of
the
competition. Oysters can be provided
earlier if requested. Participating
chefs will provide the additional ingredients needed to finish their
recipes.
Each participant will finish his or her
preparation in the
kitchen at the Elks Hall located at 124 New Haven Avenue,
Milford. The contest organizers will work with the
chefs to determine an order for the presentations.
Sufficient quantities should be prepared for
sampling by 8 judges.
“Chefs”
will present the dishes to the judges with a short explanation of the
dish,
ingredients used, history etc.
Certificates
will be awarded for the three top oyster dishes, along with bragging
rights for
at least a year!
Judges
will score each appetizer based on:
Range
of score
Plating
0 – 15
Oral
presentation by
chef 0 –
20
Taste 0 – 50
Featured
use of
oysters 0
– 15
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