Stephanie Schaeffer Wins World Wrapped Cooking Competition at Sonoma County Harvest Fair

The Third Annual World Wrapped Cooking Competition brought three determined local amateur culinary finalists to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds Sunday, October 4. Each competitor was presented with a mystery basket of ingredients and the assistance of a mentor chef as they faced both time and ingredients in the challenge to create the winning dish for the illustrious group of judges.

Stephanie Schaeffer, Tasting Room Lead and VIP & Trade Educator at Kendall-Jackson, emerged triumphant in a very close competition against finalists Matt Sangervasi and Crystal Robert, winning $1,000 and a basket of local gourmet products. Finalists were chosen from video entries submitted through the KZST Radio website and were selected by listeners. KZST Radio’s Brent Farris hosted the competition.

An enthusiastic crowd gathered to watch the cooks shop the Oliver’s Market-sponsored pantry of local ingredients, open their baskets, and get to work. This year’s basket of required ingredients included La Tortilla Factory tortillas, in addition to the three mystery ingredients: Sonoma Brinery smokey chipotle sauerkraut, Mindful Meats organic pasture raised ground beer and spaghetti squash. Competitors were required to use all four ingredients to qualify for judging.

Stephanie Schaeffer, who was paired with mentor Chef Gus Lopez of Big Boys BBQ and Old Mexico Restaurant, created a rendition of a Thai spring roll, using tortillas for an eggroll filler, and creating an Asian meatball with spaghetti squash as her chosen humdinger. “I enjoy experiencing foods from all different cultures”, said Shaeffer. She created her ‘special Thai sauce’ with coconut milk, rice wine vinegar, fresh herbs, cilantro and mint as well as lime for that fresh Thai flavor.

“Forty minutes goes by really quickly, and all I could hear was a ticking clock in my head. Gus was really great to ground me and let me bounce ideas off him as I was going,” said Shaeffer about her mentor Lopez. Other mentor Chefs lending support and expertise to competitors included Laurie Figone, Cooking with Laurie; and Roger Praplan, La Gare French Restaurant. The World Wrapped Cooking Competition was sponsored by La Tortilla Factory, Oliver’s Markets, KZST Radio, and Clover Stornetta.

Judges for the competition were Amy Meiers, winner of the 2014 World Wrapped Competition; Clarke Katz with La Tortilla Factory; Steve Rose with Vineyards Inn; and a mystery judge chosen from the audience.

To see photos and read more about the competition and the Sonoma County Harvest Fair, visit www.HarvestFair.org or https://www.facebook.com/SonomaCountyHarvestFair.