Tavistock Restaurants, LLC, has announced the 12 quarterfinalists for the first ever “Tavistock Top Chef” competition. Thirty-seven chefs of the Upscale Division as well as the organization’s three luxury golf communities are competing for cash, prizes, an all-expenses-paid trip to a luxurious destination abroad, and the chance to be named “Tavistock Top Chef” at the 2013 Tavistock Cup golf tournament in Orlando, Florida.

In the first round of the competition, chefs submitted two dishes online, one featuring pork and one freestyle, along with a photo, recipe, and “pitch.” The dishes were rated on plate presentation, the media pitch, and perceived value. The first-round winning dishes ranged from a pork tagine submitted by chef Daniel Roberts of Cafe del Rey to Albany chef Randy Leudders’ Mongolian BBQ Kurobuta pork chop. Winning dishes have the potential to be featured on menus across the country at other Tavistock restaurants. The full list of submissions can be found at www.tavistockrestaurants.com/tc.

The quarterfinalists are:

·      Jason Bergeron, Joe’s American Bar & Grill, Peabody, Massachusetts

·      Taylor Boudreaux, Napa Valley Grille, Westwood, California

·      Gioacchino Gulino, Papa Razzi, Paramus, N.J.

·      Curtis Hawk, ZED451, Chicago

·      Bobby Laggan, California Cafe, Los Gatos, California

·      Danny Levesque, Atlantic Fish Co., Boston

·      Randal Luedders, Albany Resort, The Bahamas

·      Mike Miller, Alcatraz Brewing Co., Orange, California

·      Patrick Quackenbush, Timpano Italian Chophouse, Orlando

·      Daniel Roberts, CAFE del REY, Marina del Rey, California

·      Stephen Stromberg, Sapporo, Scottsdale, Arizona

·      Todd Yamanaka, California Cafe, Palo Alto, California

The Top 12 chefs were notified by the delivery of a set of Shun knives and an invitation to the regional quarterfinals to be held at Tavistock’s revolutionary concept, ZED451, in Chicago. Four semifinalists will go on to compete at Tavistock Group’s Albany Resort in the Bahamas in January and two finalists will compete in March at the gala event at the 2013 Tavistock Cup golf tournament at the Isleworth Country Club.

“This is, by far, the largest scaled internal recognition and reward program we’ve ever launched within our company,” says Tavistock CEO Bryan Lockwood. “We are fortunate to be able to partner with our strategic vendors and Tavistock Group to make it happen. We have exciting plans for the Regionals, the Bahamas, and beyond, and we can’t wait for the next round,” he adds.