Trini chef wins baking competition

A meal of curried turkey, paratha and cauliflower choka helped T&T born chef Dr Winnette McIntosh Ambrose win the Chopped: Gold Medal Games Baking competition in an episode aired on the Food Network on Tuesday night.
McIntosh Ambrose will now compete in the US$50,000 grand finale carded to be aired next Tuesday.
In 2012 McIntosh Ambrose and her brother Timothy won the Food Network’s popular Cupcake Wars competition.
McIntosh Ambrose, who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with her PhD in Biomedical Engineering, owns and operates a boutique bakery in Washington D.C called The Sweet Lobby.
This year the Chopped kitchen launched the Gold Medal Games.
The tournament featured 16 “world-class chefs”.
Each week, four new chefs competed utilising their greatest culinary skill — frying, grilling, baking or speed.
The winner of each episode would then gain a spot in the finale and a chance to take home the coveted gold medal and US$50,000.
The baking episode was the last of the four competitions.
“I am super excited competing among the best of the best pastry chefs and bakers but it is so important for me to prove that I can also tackle savoury, one way that I am doing that is through my Trinidadian heritage,” McIntosh Ambrose said.
The competition comprised three rounds.
In the first round, the competitors were given the breakfast dough and a cut of lamb to make their appetizer.
McIntosh Ambrose made stuffed bake with jerk lamb and a ginger liqueur reduction.
McIntosh Ambrose explained that “bake is a casual term for quick breads in Trinidad”.
For the main meal, the competitors were given the ingredients smoked turkey legs, a roasted head of cauliflower, spaghetti rings and shredded phyllo dough.
“My strategy in this round is to bowl the judges over with the complex flavours of my Trinidadian roots,” McIntosh Ambrose said.
She made curried turkey, paratha and cauliflower choka.
For the final round, the chefs were given the ingredients banana curd, caneles, freeze-fried blueberries and hot chocolate to make dessert.
McIntosh Ambrose made blueberry cake with banana-hot chocolate sauce and meringue.
After the three knock out rounds, McIntosh Ambrose was selected as the lone baking chef to advance to the grand finale next Tuesday.
McIntosh Ambrose said if she wins the competition she will invest the money in The Sweet Lobby.
Source:  Joel Julien, Trinidad Guardian, January 25, 2018

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