Posted by Courier-Journal, KY on June 20, 2009 at 14:00:27:
Chef Varanese to battle in national seafood cook-off
By Steve Coomes • June 20, 2009
John Varanese, chef-owner of Varanese Restaurant, 2106 Frankfort Ave., has been selected as one of 15 chefs to compete in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans on July 18 and 19. The annual two-day contest provides chefs a tense, one-hour slot in which to prepare their best seafood dish for a panel of persnickety industry judges. A show about the contest will be aired on the Food Network later this year.
Varanese will prepare Kentucky prawn-stuffed paddlefish using only locally harvested seafood. He said he filleted the fish's thick flesh to flatten it, and stuffed it with chopped prawns, celery, onion and queso blanco to bind it.
"I rolled the whole thing up like a roulade, seared it, sliced it and fanned it out over some risotto with chili and cumin," he said. "Then I garnished it with pico de gallo and two styles of crème fraiche. I have a feeling that no one else in the contest will be using paddlefish, so I hope I get some points for uniqueness and some exposure for Kentucky products."
Varanese said he likes the adrenaline rush created by food competitions, plus he hopes a win — which would see him crowned as the American King of Seafood — might launch a career in front of the TV camera hosting his own cooking show.
"Really, national exposure for the restaurant is my goal, and this should help," he said. "But one day, when I'm ready to retire from this, maybe I could switch careers and do a show."
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