Chef Nick Badovinus Competes During Robb Report's 3rd Annual Culinary Masters Competition
Looking to find 2015's most exciting new culinary talent in the world, Robb Report has begun their Third Annual Culinary Masters competition with their five hand-picked chefs competing for the title. This year, renowned master chefs David Bouley, Dean Fearing, Pierre Gagnaire, Nancy Oakes and Wolfgang Puck have each chosen their picks for the industry's emerging stars.
Showcasing a variety of talents, the nominees are: Jean-Marc Boyer, Josef Centeno, Yoshiaki Takazawa, Nicolas Delaroque and Nick Badovinus. These nominees were chosen for their distinctive approaches to haute cuisine and will create a five-course dinner with wine pairings for Robb Report readers and editors throughout the competition.
On October 18, JustLuxe participated in one of the dinners featuring chef Nick Badovinus at The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage. Held in the resort's newly opened The Edge restaurant, the evening was filled with beautifully-presented dishes, bright and complex wines and stimulating life and food conversations around each table.
Crediting dinners and gatherings with his large extended family as one of the reasons behind discovering his passion for food, Badovinus enrolled at what was then the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon after finishing his undergraduate degree at the University of Washington in 1993. Securing an externship at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas with chef and Lucchese aficionado Dean Fearing, he began his foray into the culinary world.
Over the years he has worked for Consilient Restaurants and Nick and Sam's Steakhouse, helped establish Cuba Libre, Hibiscus, the Porch, and Fireside Pies and on Halloween 2008, opened his first restaurant. Following Neighborhood Services, he opened a burger and sandwich shack called Off-Site Kitchen in 2012. In 2014 Badovinus received his second James Beard Award nomination as Outstanding Restaurateur, launched a third Neighborhood Services eatery and began a contract to consult nationally with Omni Hotels and Resorts.
Starting with a savory tortilla soup followed by a fried quail salad, perfectly cooked scallop and a tenderloin Diane and dessert, Badovinus took diners on a culinary journey. During the dinner, as each guest forked their way through his courses, they were tasked with the responsibility of filling out a ballot and summary of each item, scoring the nominees on presentation, taste and overall impression. In the January issue of Robb Report, the winner will be named as the New Culinary Master for 2015 based off of similar dinner events.