Using Local Ingredients
Chefs participating in the cook-off have restrictions regarding space, utensils, and time. However, says Duane Legg, chairman of the West Virginia Culinary Federation and one of the 2010 cook-off judges, “Every chef is limited only by his or her own creativity.”
Chef Tim Urbanic of Café Cimino in Sutton is a regular cook-off participant and past winner of the Best Use of Appalachian Produce award. At Café Cimino, Urbanic and his wife, Melody, and son, Eli, go to extra lengths to use locally raised products in their menu items.
“Because Appalachia is so large, the choices are many,” Urbanic says. “At Café Cimino, we try to obtain foods raised as close to home as possible. It takes some extra work and research to do a good job of it, but we have fun. We also feel good about searching out mom-and-pop businesses that raise organic foods.”
