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CUCUMBER COOL

Tribune photo by JEFF HOUCK

Brittany Porter, 17, demonstrates her award-winning culinary form at the Best Teen Chef competition.

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By JEFF HOUCK

jhouck@tampatrib.com

Published: March 20, 2009

Updated: 03/20/2009 01:12 pm

Things were not going well for Brittany Porter.

As one of five competitors for the title of Best Teen Chef this past weekend at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Tampa, Porter worked meticulously mincing garlic, slicing mushrooms and dicing onions during the knife skills segment.

But that attention to detail set her back timewise and kept her from finishing skinning her Roma tomato. Going into the second half of the competition, when she had to create a shrimp cocktail appetizer and a dish of sauteed chicken with rice pilaf, she was in last place. Ahead of her in points were Morgan Turner, 17; William Collins, 18; William Collier, 17; and Stephen Starr, 18.

Instead of freaking out, the 17-year-old cook from Belleview kept her composure, started on her entree and finished prepping the tomatoes as time permitted. Throughout the competition, her sparse, efficient work station was almost Zen-like in its cleanliness.

The attention to detail, creativity with her dishes and the strong flavors she mixed won Porter a $3,000 scholarship to the culinary school. She'll also get the chance to compete in May for a full scholarship against 34 winners from other Art Institute campuses across the United States.

As one of three judges - along with Sven Ulrich, executive chef at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, and Art Institute chef instructor Michael Lynch - I can't begin to describe how impressed we all were with the talent on display. Each of the chefs showed great promise in different areas. Some had great knife or time-management skills. Others were accomplished at sauces.

For photos from the contest, go online to my blog, The Stew, at TBO

.com, Keyword: Stew.

ON TO THE OLYMPICS

One more thing about the culinary school: Lynch tells me that the Cooks Club, which recently served food for the Taste of the NFL pre-party during Super Bowl week, has been invited to cook at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, B.C.

Apparently a friend of a friend tasted some of the Citrus Bay spice mixes and hot sauces the club packaged and bottled last year to raise money, and passed it on to other people at the Royal Bank of Canada, which is connected to the Olympics. Nine students and instructors will be traveling north to participate.

CUISINE WITH A BACKSWING

On Tuesday, I dropped by Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, which is hosting the PGA's Transitions Championship. Chef Andre Halston was giving a healthy-cooking demonstration featuring a carrot vinaigrette he makes with carrot juice, honey and peppermint-flavored cilantro.

Part of Halston's schedule included hosting a cooking party Thursday for children of tournament players, complete with aprons and chef's hats. This is the second year he's done the party. Last year, he had the youngsters make s'mores - a gooey, chocolaty delicacy of which Halston admits he previously had not been aware. It didn't come up during his stint with the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain.

Halston took over as executive chef at Innisbrook in January 2008, right before last year's tournament. He has been revamping the four restaurants on the property as part of a $25 million renovation to the resort. The upgrade started after Sheila C. Johnson and her company, Salamander Hospitality, purchased Innisbrook in July.

Much of the work on the new spa and meeting space was completed in time to host events for Super Bowl XLIII in February, but some of the remaining restaurant renovations weren't finished until early last week.

That includes the new gourmet Market Salamander, which provides ready-to-cook meals for guests who have kitchens in their rooms. The Market Salamander Grille offers sit-down casual fare.

Halston says he's using local farmers to provide organic ingredients for menu items at the resort.

Red romaine lettuce used during the demonstration came from only 12 minutes away, he says. "Not only is it more fresh, you can walk through and choose what you want and work with farmers to grow ingredients you want."

The resort is open only to members and guests, but Johnson is considering opening the restaurants to the public.

RRSUX.COM, R.I.P

All good things must end. As such, the anti-Rachael Ray site "Rachael Ray Sucks" ( www.rrsux.com) has closed shop after six years.

The site, which at one point attracted nearly 2,000 members, garnered lots of press attention from USA Today, Newsweek and The New York Times.

"Contrary to popular belief, Rachael Ray had nothing to do with my decision to delete 'Rachael Ray Sucks,'" site operator Misty Lane recently wrote on the site. "Many things can be said about Rachael Ray, but she has always been a good sport when it comes to her detractors and she never tried to interfere with the site.

"I am still not a Rachael Ray fan," Lane says. "I find the woman to be extremely annoying and overexposed, but now I choose to just change the channel. Life is too short to be so negative and mean-spirited. Besides, in this economy, the last thing on my mind is Rachael Ray."

In case you hadn't guessed, the Web domain is officially for sale.

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