They “oo-ed.” They “ahh-ed.” They ate. That is what the crowd did as they meandered through the three floors of the Art Association of Harrisburg’s gallery at 21 N. Front Street September 25, during the third annual “Art of Food” Culinary Competition. Area chefs gave it their best shot at designing eye appealing, colorful, and original plates of food to capture the judge’s attention — and the attention of those who gathered to appreciate food as art. Tables draped in black cloth were the perfect backdrops for the food displays, some prepared up to ten hours in advance. As patrons strolled, eating hors d’oeuvres, and sipping wine and beer, they could also take in the “The Art of the Table” painting, photo, and sculpture exhibit that ran simultaneously with the “Art of Food” show giving patrons another artistic avenue to appreciate man’s most basic need.

Outrageously wild were some of the styling shown on the canvases of 10" white plates. While Terry Daniel’s of Politesse kept his Grilled Cold Water Lobster Tail with ricotta, crab, and sundried tomato stuffed zucchini blossoms on the plate, he heightened it with a spiral tower and wisps resembling antennas. Steve Reeves of Sushi Creations, winner in the Garde Mange category for his prawn worshiping sushi plate, displayed his entries on ice sculptures resembling waves.

The art of patilague, as explained by Executive Pastry Chef Timothy Harris of Shippensburg University, produced pearl white sculptures of shells and starfish from gelatin and cornstarch, to serve as accessories to both his second-placing dessert of ginger chocolate decadence served on a macaroon tower, and his second place-tying entree of pineapple marinated mahi mahi with tropical chutney and a bright orange-colored mango sauce.

The judges appeared to like the seemingly minimalist approach with attention to detail, as Harrisburg Hilton & Towers’ Anthony Augustine’s take on Surf and Turf won him the Best of Show award. He plated a perfectly rounded filet of beef as a base and built a crust of risotto and Maine lobster on top, pulling it together with a fresh herb embellished mast and dollops of appropriately placed sauce. We really wanted to taste it — to taste all of the creations —like Scotts Grille’s Mike Kapp’s Blackened Tuna with apricot melon chutney on a bed of Asian slaw. But, alas, we had to settle for mere hors d’oeuvres such as the Blackened Wild Goose with apricot glaze on toasted pumpernickel supplied by the Hearth (Hershey Lodge and Convention Center). OK, OK, so we also had assorted sushi complements of Sushi Creations and tapas from Gibraltar, and that seared tuna with wasabi, and … you get the picture.

Last year’s big winner was Harrisburg Hilton & Towers’ Jason Viscount, who tied for number two this year with Harris in the entrée category, with his tiny bronzed-roasted quail clinging to a poached quail egg offered with savoy cabbage and red pepper jam. Also, from the Hilton, winning the number two spot in the Garde Mange category was Josh Easton’s overlapping, beet dusted sea scallops with herb crème fraîche, bouquet of frisée, and red oak.

Early in the evening, Dwayne Spenser of the Hershey Grille was casual in his approach to the event, saying that, “Whatever I do, I just wanted to do it well.” What he did well, was … win. Spencer had the winning entrée entry, featuring salmon medallions with perfect crosshatched grill marks, encrusted with granola showcased by sliced and fanned autumn harvest vegetables of baby zucchini and patty pan squash, with swirls of honey pink peppercorn yogurt sauce. He perched his plate on a wooden crate with sheaths of wheat and fall colored leaves around.

When you think of the art of food, desserts usually come to mind first. At the “Art of Food” Culinary Competition, two desserts tied for first — and both featured spun sugar as an accent (as difficult as it was the try to keep the spun sugar in its airy form for an extended time period). Harrisburg Hilton & Towers’ Elizabeth Miller’s triple-layered Napoleon Mousse with spun sugar and raspberry mango coulis rivaled Gibralter’s Jason Lampart’s geo-technical contoured chocolate sculpture that appeared to be ready for take off.

Do you wonder how all of these exquisite works of art could possibly be judged? Jim Lupia, owner of Pleasures of the Palate Catering, and Jennifer Whitten, Cooking Connection Columnist for the Patriot News and Central PA Magazine were up to the challenge. But, leave it to the third judge, Carrie Bogar, co-owner of the Empire Restaurant and Bar in Carlisle and an amazing chef in her own right, to have a threefold, intuitive focus to judging the dishes. “I go by my first response when I see it,” she said, “or if I know it wouldn’t taste good or if the garnish is so abstract it has nothing to do with the dish.”

And, according to Carrie Wissler-Thomas, President of the Art Association, “The chefs really had a good time and the attendees did, too. We sold some paintings and attracted new people. The chefs are even thinking of what they want to prepare for next year’s show.”

It looks to me like everyone won.

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