Chef donates winnings to Good Samaritan Clinic in Rochester
Earlier this month, three Hy-Vee grocery stores in Rochester held a cooking competition similar to those seen on the Food Network reality TV shows “Chopped” or “Iron Chef.”
The head chef at each location had 10 minutes to find five ingredients that would go well with steak and lobster. The chef who created the best dish would win $250 for their favorite charity.
Chef Rob Ulrich won with his “Surf and Turf” dish, then donated his $250 prize to The Salvation Army Good Samaritan Clinic in Rochester.
“The Salvation Army was the first charity that I thought of,” Ulrich said. “My family has been recipients of the care at the clinic for the past 10 years.”
The five ingredients Ulrich picked for his winning dish included blue cheese, mini sweet peppers, onions, vinaigrette dressing, and jalapeño honey mustard. Contestants were also allowed to use basic refrigerator and pantry ingredients, such as flour and buttermilk.
Ulrich’s winning dish featured stuffed steak rolls with lobster sauté and a salad, all topped off with onion strings.
To create his winning dish, Ulrich sliced strips of medium-rare steak, rolled the slices, and stuffed them with blue cheese and mini sweet peppers. He mixed the lobster into the honey mustard as part of a sauté, then made a salad with greens and the balsamic vinaigrette dressing. He battered thinly-sliced onions in buttermilk and flour and then deep fried them.
Rob didn’t know if his recipe would be good enough to win. But he knew where his donation would go if he did.
“It was a generous gift and we are so appreciative that he thought of us,” said Rebecca Snapp, Rochester Salvation Army Community Engagement Assistant.
Please join The Salvation Army by volunteering or making a donation to support your local community today.