A Taste of Elegance

When Chef Chad Willis, Saturn Grill General Manager and Executive Chef, was only 16 years old he started his first job at the Waterford Hotel. Working in the kitchen, he had no way of knowing that years later he would take home the first place honors — for the second time — at the Oklahoma Taste of Elegance. During his last appearance at the Oklahoma contest, Willis received second place hon-ors with his Asian inspired dish – it was then he knew his next go-round would include a southwest dish. Willis’ Contemporary Red Chili Pork: Red Chili pork belly with pob-lano coulis and smoked tomato soam, earned the $1,000 top award and the opportunity to participate in the 22nd

annual National Taste of Elegance™ event to be held in 2011. “This was my seventh time to participate at the Oklahoma Taste of Elegance,” said Willis. “I’m looking

forward to having the opportunity to participate again nationally.” At his last national competition, hosted in Orlando, Willis was in awe of work-ing with celebrity chefs. “It’s obviously not as easy as it looks on TV,” he said.

“But I’m competitive by nature and I thrive under the pressure.” This year’s Oklahoma Taste of El-egance was hosted by Oklahoma Pork Council and the Oklahoma Military Department. Pork products for the evening were sponsored by Seaboard Foods featuring Prairie Fresh Prime

pork. Ben E. Keith Co. and Girls Gone Wine provided additional support. “The Taste of Elegance event brings the best Oklahoma chefs to-gether to share their talent using Okla-homa’s second largest agricultural enterprise – pork,” said Nikki Snider, OPC Communications Coordinator. “By utilizing Checkoff programs to reach chefs, we work toward our goal of increasing pork menu items.” Thirteen chefs prepared dishes for judging on originality, taste and presentation. Gaylord Toriello, 2009 Taste of Elegance winner and Museum Café chef; Chef Robert Merrifield, Polo Grill; Yvette Curry, ACF Culinary Arts Society of Oklahoma President and Culinary Arts Instructor; and Dave Cathy, Food editor for the Daily Okla-homan, served as judges. Second place and $500 went to Chef Ana Paixio Davis with Café do Brasil in Oklahoma City with her entrée, Feijoadad – “Brasilian National Dish.” Davis also received the Wine Pairing award. Chef Jakub Hartlieb of Elements Grille in Tulsa received third place and $250 with his entrée, Ele-ments of Pork. Guests voted Chef Re-becca Sparks with Legends in Norman the People’s Choice Award winner. Additional chefs competing in-cluded Chef Vince Howard, Bellini’s in Oklahoma City; Chef David Sul-livan, Oak Tree Country Club in Edmond; Chef Miguel Olmedo, North Park Grille-Embassy Suites in Nor-man; Chef Jonathan Groth, Coach House in Nichols Hills; Justin Ward, Bolero in Oklahoma City; Chef Rolyn Soberanis, The Metro Wine Bar and Bistro in Oklahoma City; Chef Gerald Harden, the Mantel Wine Bar and Bistro in Oklahoma City; Chef Thomas Fears, Deep Fork Grill in Oklahoma City; and Brian McGrew, Stella Mod-ern Italian Cuisine in Oklahoma City. More than 500 attendees sampled the dishes during a reception to honor Operation Oklahoma: Our Salute to Vietnam Veterans. “We are proud to sponsor the Taste of Elegance events and partner

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Oklahoma producers take pride in their communities and I

can’t think of another group who gives back to their communities

more than our men and women serving

our country

By Brooke Clay

6 • Oklahoma Pork Council

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Years of altering nutrition and breeding techniques has resulted in meeting consumers’ demands for leaner pork. Studies, conducted by scientists at the United States Depart-ment of Agriculture at the University of Wisconsin and University of Mary-land, in 2006 have shown pork is now leaner than chicken. Consumers have preferred chick-en over pork for years mainly for its healthiness. Now that pork producers have been able to produce leaner pork, consumption rates of pork have the opportunity to increase. “Current trends in consumer behavior indicate it will be a while before pork surpasses chicken in per capita consumption,” said Bill Barnes, OPC president-elect. “I would think pork will have to make significant increases in the presence of fast food chain menus before pork overtakes chicken.” The USDA analysis found a three ounce pork tenderloin contains only 2.98 grams of fat, compared to 3.03 grams of fat in a three ounce serving of skinless chicken breast. The pork industry has been able to decrease total fat by 16 percent and 27 percent in saturated fat compared to pork fifteen years ago. While trimmed pork tenderloin and skinless chicken breast have equal amounts of its total fat percentage, six cuts of pork have total fat content that is between the skinless chicken breast and thigh. “The desire for lean meat has enabled genetics companies to select for leanness in pigs being produced,” Barnes said. “Payment matrices have been developed by packers which pay premiums on lean carcasses back to the producers. This has encouraged pork producers to demand lean genet-ics without sacrificing meat quality.” Pork still contains a significant amount of nutrients, even with its new leanness. According to nutritionists, pork tenderloin is an excellent source of protein, thiamin, vitamin B6, phos-phorus and niacin. It is also a good source of riboflavin, potassium and zinc. OPC promotes the new healthi-ness of pork using the Other White Meat campaign via website, advertise-ments and marketing strategies. Di-

etitians and health care professionals help advertise pork as being healthy for consumers as well. “The public will be surprised, especially about lean tenderloins and loins,” said Scott Carter, profes-sor of Animal Science at Oklahoma State University. “Pork, The Other White Meat, which first came out in 1985, was probably the best advertise-ment campaign there has been and it promoted pork as low fat and high protein.” The fact pork is leaner than it has been in previous years is not enough to get consumers to switch from regu-lar chicken consumers to regular pork consumers. “Chicken is known for its conve-nience, consistency, easy preparation, quality and its diversity in cuts and preparation,” Carter said. Trends in the pork industry will constantly change depending on con-sumer demands. There are also things you can do that can cut back on fat and make meals healthier. Determining the size of a certain cut of meat will help. According to nutritionists, adults generally should eat five to seven ounces from the meat group each day, depending on your calorie needs. Cuts of meat with the words “loin” or “round” are generally leaner cuts. Consumers can visibly look at the cuts of meat to determine the amount of fat. The fat can be removed prior to cooking, which can reduce total fat per serving in half. According to food and nutrition specialists, using low-fat cooking methods, such as grilling, broiling, stir-frying and pan-broiling will maximize flavor while keeping added fat to a minimum. Cook thin cuts of meat quickly, with little or no fat, by pan-broiling in a non-stick skillet with a little juice or broth. Stir-fry with vegetable cooking spray or a small amount of flavored oil. Marinate with juice, wine-flavored vinegar or a fat-free dressing to add flavor and juiciness rather than using oil-based marinades. • For recipes and nutrition information visit

www.TheOtherWhiteMeat.com

Consumers wishes grantedBy Marissa Tescier Oklahoma State University Agricultural Communications

with the Oklahoma Military De-partment,” said Roy Lee Lindsey, OPC executive director. “Oklahoma producers take pride in their com-munities and I can’t think of another group who gives back to their com-munities more than our men and women serving our country.” • Pictured: (left page) Chef Chad Willis at Saturn Grill, 4401 West Memorial #111, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Below) The line up of Taste of Elegance Dishes. Willis’ Contemporary Red Chili Pork pictured on bottom.

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