George Atwell, VP Food and Beverage
Robson Ranch is preparing to host the 13th annual Chef’s Gala Saturday, January 21. The event is the brain child of George Atwell, VP of Food and Beverage for Robson Communities, as a way to foster friendly competition among the Chefs of all the Robson Resort Communities. The winning Chef along with the Food and Beverage staff, as well as the entire community will retain bragging rights for the year.
Chef Aris Cabrera from Quail Creek, 2016 winner, will sharpen his skills again to cook for the right to retain the Gala Award Trophy for 2017. Little does he know that the four other Chefs will also be scouring their recipes for the dish that is sure to be the winning one. The Chefs have all had their main item selected at random and were told in November what they will be cooking for the 300 plus attendees.
Each Chef, along with their F & B teams, will prepare a sample size dish and select a wine to complement the flavors of their creation. Additionally, the banquet and catering sales staff will design and create a spectacular table top arrangement to enhance the meal. Attendees will sample the food and wine, judge the presentation and then vote on their favorite.
The winning F & B team will receive the Chef’s Gala Trophy that will remain at their community until the following year’s event. In addition to the main trophy, there is also an award that will be presented to the banquet and catering staff from each community for the most outstanding table top design.
Tickets went on sale December 1 at all locations with a limited number available for each community. Some say the bus ride to the location is as much fun as the event itself.
The Robson Ranch staff has been planning this event for the past year to make it better than the year before. Each year the host community goes all out to make this dinner the one to top. It’s anyone’s guess who will come out on top but with bragging rights at stake you can count on fierce and fun competition.