NORTH AMERICA. Chicago O’Hare International Airport Terminal 2 hosted a high-profile cooking contest on Tuesday as five contestants took part in Channel Your Inner Chef – a culinary competition created by HMSHost in partnership with the Chicago Department of Aviation.
In a 30-minute timed cook-off, the five finalists were challenged to create an original recipe from an array of ingredients revealed to them at the start of the event, as well as an ingredient of their choice from the O’Hare Urban Garden located in Terminal 3.
The competition took place before a live audience of guests, travellers and judges from the aviation and Chicago communities. Judging criteria included cooking technique, recipe, presentation, form, showmanship and taste.
“This diverse group of Channel Your Inner Chef contestants performed outstandingly today, making for an entertaining event that helped celebrate the local flavour and culinary innovation found within the airport community,” said HMSHost Chief Commercial Officer Jeff Yablun. “Based on the success of last year’s inaugural
event, HMSHost was excited to partner once again with the Chicago Department of Aviation to bring Channel Your Inner Chef back to Chicago travellers and showcase the innovation HMSHost has to offer.”
At the end of the event, Dallas native Sepi Naficy emerged as winner with her paella, which will be featured on the menu of an HMSHost-operated restaurant at O’Hare. She also receives round-trip airfare for two, as well as a VIP experience for two to the James Beard Awards Gala on 2 May at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
“We were very pleased to host this exciting and unique event at O’Hare International Airport,” said Chicago Department of Aviation Commissioner Ginger S. Evans. “Chicago is a world-class culinary destination and this competition provides great entertainment for passengers travelling through our airport. I want to congratulate Sepi Naficy on taking top honours, as well as the other contestants who all demonstrated skill, creativity, attention to detail and great ability to perform under pressure during this cook-off competition.”
At the event, guests tasted sample dishes from HMSHost-operated restaurants and were entertained with live music and cooking demonstrations from HMSHost chefs.
Channel Your Inner Chef is a first-of-its-kind multi-phase recipe contest open to employees and travellers in Chicago and the USA. To enter, contestants submitted a five-minute video of themselves preparing an original recipe. Five finalists were selected among video entries received from across the nation. Full details about Channel Your Inner Chef, including finalists’ video submissions, can be found at ChannelYourInnerChef.com.
