Nelson's chef Amanda Skidmore, from All Seasons Cafe, won the Sibling Rivalry black box cooking competition on Saturday in sister city Sandpoint, Idaho.
"That competition was a blast," said Skidmore. "Well put together! I am so glad I got to be apart of it."
Skidmore created two dishes in one hour in front of a crowd.
Her appetizer was plum teriyaki chicken fillets, carrot, golden beet and apple five spiced slaw, topped with spicy julienne nori. Her entree was a cumin oat crusted pork chop, melted rainbow Swiss chard and heirloom tomatoes, sautéed herbed russet potatoes, with an apple huckleberry chutney.
"The competition was super exciting with Reese and Amanda intensely focusing on their cooking while host Kate McCalister entertained the audience, of about 100 people, with trivia and prizes," said Dianna Ducs from Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism. "The skilled appetizer and entree were evaluated on plating, originality and taste.
"Both Reese and Amanda did an amazing job and should be very proud of their efforts and what they put forward. Congratulations Amanda! Next year there will be a similar event, with the Sister Cities rivaling against one another.
“Thanks to the strong support from the Nelsonites who came down to cheer Amanda, Nelson and Canada on for the win, “ said Ducs. “We not only won the contest but also the hearts of the Sandpointians. We love our sister (city).”
