Still time to enter today to Win 2 Tickets to Hop Chef on April 28th!

Join me at the Ommegang Hop Chef Competition on Saturday, April 28, 2012. 1-4 pm at The Atlas Theater, 1333 H Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002.  DC-area chefs will be imaginatively preparing and pairing dishes with fine Ommegang ales. Each chef creates two dishes showcasing their skills in bringing Great Beer and Great Food to exuberant life.

Enter to win 2 tickets to Hop Chef:

Follow @capitalcooking


and Tweet:
Tweet

If you don't have Twitter, simply:

 Subscribe to the Capital Cooking Newsletter
   
   

and Comment below about your favorite food and beer pairing.

Who will win the bragging rights? And the chance to compete for the Hop Chef crown at our yearly Belgium Comes to Cooperstown festival at the brewery? Join us and see. And taste. And drink.

Tickets are $75.

For more information on the Chefs and where you can try their food, please visit the following websites: Nicholas Stefanelli of Bibiana : Will Artley of Pizzeria Orso : Mike Bonk of Sonoma Jamie Leeds of Hank’s Oyster Bar : Jeff Eng of Clyde’s of Tower Oaks Bradley Walker of Boundary Road : Mark Marracco of Magnolias at the Mill

The dishes will be created using Chef Teddy Folkman’s 5 beer pairing techniques:

1. Simple pairing – This is the direct interaction between food and beer from taking a bite of the food and a sip of the beer.
2. Incorporation – This is the utilization of beer in the cooking process. Incorporation can be a challenging task and requires some trial and error to see where the dish benefits from the addition of the beer.
3. Mimicking – One of the most difficult pairings, mimic pairings are the act of matching the flavor profile of a dish with the flavor profile of a beer. It is difficult because not only do you have to understand the flavor profiles of the individual ingredients of the dish, but also the beer such as the type of hops, malt and yeast being used.
4. Story Telling – Beer, like food, has a great history behind it. Not just how it was made, but why.
5. Experimental – This type of pairing is the most fun by far. It is finding a way to make the beer the main star of a dish. The experimental aspect of the pairing is more of an end result of trying one of the above.