For years, Chef Shola Olunloyo has been one of Philadelphia’s most acclaimed chefs—and interestingly so, considering opportunities to devour his progressive, New American dishes are few and far between. Even though he’s lacking a restaurant to call his own, that has never stopped this mystifying chef from hitting the pavement in the city of Brotherly Love, and lucky for us, we were able to catch him this August as he competed in a sustainable seafood battle against Chef Terence Feury (another of our chef favorites).
The mid-morning culinary battle unfolded on Aug. 14th at Philadelphia’s Samuels and Son Seafood Gourmet Kitchen, courtesy of Verlasso Salmon — an admirable seafood company that dedicates itself to the evolution of sustainable aquaculture, raising the healthiest salmon possible.
While having two of the local culinary scene’s heavy-hitters participate in a chef throwdown is reason enough to trek to the outskirts of South Philadelphia, Verlasso was able to make the deal even sweeter — each “cheftestant” was competing to award a select charity a donation of $1,000 (Chef Shola competed for Greensgrow Farm and Chef Terence for Wetlands Institute). Oh, and it didn’t end there: each spectator had to choose which of the benefitting partners would receive an additional $25 donation on their behalf—thus, more spectators meant more money donated to each charity.
Since the mindful seafood company hosted the chef throwdown at another seafood-savvy company’s HQ, it’s only appropriate (and expected) that the heavy-hitting kitchen crusaders would whip up a dish that boasted premium seafood—specifically Verlasso’s high-quality salmon.
The suspense was on as attendees filed into Samuels and Son’s Gourmet Kitchen, anticipating the fine-tuned tastes as both chefs sprinkled finishing touches of their dishes. As the cooking portion of the event neared end, food lovers and sustainable seafood supporters rubbed elbows with other notable, local chefs who were also attending the cook-off, which included Heirloom’s Chef Al Parris and Nectar’s Chef Patrick Feury (who happens to be the brother of Chef Terence).
Creative powerhouse Chef Shola presented his dish first—his take on his early morning favorite, an everything bagel with lox and cream cheese. However, when you ask Shola for his “take” you can expect a one-of-a-kind culinary masterpiece and this dish was nothing short of his usual showings. He smoked his own Verlasso salmon (done Scotch-style) and paired it with pickled onions and capers, finishing off the dish with a dollop of his from-scratch Everything Bagel Ice Cream. The savoriness of the ice cream and salmon, paired with the sweetness of the onions, took our breath away and proved that the chef is constantly one upping himself—always developing another (and original) breathtaking bite.
Soon, Chef Terence was debuting his farm-fresh dish, a gorgeous seared seafood display—one that allowed all attendees to fully understand the beauty of Verlasso’s superior-quality fish. The former executive chef of Old City’s Fork—who will soon debut his South Jersey Tavro 13, captivated our taste buds with his elegant approach to the challenge, simply allowing the salmon to speak for itself, while accenting the plate with in-season tastes of tomato petals, roasted corn and Thai basil aioli.
“We’re grateful that these people wake up every morning and put these flavors together,” said Verlasso Director Scott Nichols, in regards to the competing chefs and their incredible skill sets.
While all attendees agreed with Scott, that each chefs’ dish was beautifully executed and we were lucky to have the opportunity to try them, only one chef could snag victory of this competition.
With the votes in, Chef Shola’s unique rendition of the early-morning staple proved superior, granting Greensgrow Farm the $1,000 donation and awarding him “People’s Choice” among attendees. Although Chef Terence’s dish slipped into runner-up status, it was praised for skillfully making the salmon the most eminent part of the plate—and we admit, it was one of the better salmon dishes we have ever tasted.
It’s fair to say that after this cook-off, Verlasso salmon is different—and, as we can attest, better tasting. You can learn much more about what creates these differences in the taste and the product, by clicking here. Also, be sure to catch Chef Shola in action over on his Studiokitchen website and keep an eye on his “Events” page. Don’t skip keeping tabs on Chef Terence, either, as he opens his new Tavro 13 come mid-September in Swedesboro, New Jersey (more details on that, coming soon).
Photographs credited to Bob Scott, click here for more scenes from Verlasso’s Chef Challenge.
