CVTC culinary students compete to create their rendition of the 'Eau Claire sandwich'
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EAU CLAIRE — While the busyness of Chippewa Valley Technical College’s culinary kitchen may not have been a new sight, the dishes coming out Tuesday morning certainly were.
As part of a fun competition put together by CVTC and Silver Spring Foods, an international producer of sauces and mustards and the largest producer of horseradish in the world based out of Eau Claire, 20 Culinary Management students worked to create an “Eau Claire sandwich.”
Eric Rygg, president of Silver Spring, said the idea stemmed from a discussion he had years ago about the many regions throughout the country have a signature sandwich, like Philadelphia’s cheesesteak and Minneapolis’ juicy lucy.
“I was beginning to think, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if the Chippewa Valley had a sandwich of its own, kind of akin to some of those other sandwiches,’” said Rygg. “I share this idea often with people I encounter in town. I think most everyone agrees that it is a good idea, but no one can agree on what that sandwich is or what you would call it. Kevin (Brown) thought that maybe utilizing the culinary students at CVTC could be a really fun way for the students to embrace their skills that they are learning at the culinary school and tap into their creativity with this assignment.”
CVTC Program Director Kevin Brown said, “We have been thinking about this and talking about this project for a long time, then COVID came and it got left behind a bit. We decided to bring it up again. I have two different cohorts of students that have been working on recipes for the last two weeks: fine tuning, revising, getting feedback from other students in the class and feedback from me and other instructors on their sandwich to help develop it to the best it can be. Today we will see the final product.”
With the results of the competition, Brown said Rygg and Silver Spring’s interest is to introduce the winning sandwich as a potential menu item at local restaurants.
Judges sampling the sandwiches later in the competition consisted of CVTC executive leadership and representatives from Silver Spring Foods. The ranking and criteria was based on taste, appearance, plausibility of the item being on a restaurant menu and the usage of Silver Spring products in the food.
As the local competition also serves as an educational opportunity for each student to explore an individual dish, Brown said that one challenge has been for the students to take feedback and adjust to meet the requirements of the dish and make a meal that appeals to others.
“One of the key criteria is to make it a Wisconsin-esque sandwich, incorporating some local Wisconsin-esque tastes and flavors,” he said. “Not just Silver Springs, but some students are using cranberries, some students are using cheese curds, some students are using cherries, some students are using beer.”
First year culinary student Kenya Gomez shared her sandwich idea, which was a partial take on a Wisconsin old fashioned. Her dish incorporated a croissant, horseradish mayo, chicken and a bourbon-soaked cherry and pecan blend.
“I think the biggest thing is thinking of what ingredients define Eau Claire or even just Wisconsin as a whole,” she said. “You think cranberries, of course the horseradish with Silver Spring, cheese and dairy and stuff like that.
“Once you have a little idea of a sweet or savory sandwich you want and a couple ingredients you want to use, you can build off of that.”
At the end of the day, Gomez placed first with her Wisconsin Old Fashioned. Second place was awarded to Kim Parson for the EC Cristo, and third place went to Grace Esen with the Roast Beast.
“I was really impressed with the students and with the thought they put into their sandwiches,” said Rygg. “They had some thesis work with each other and the instructors on how they can make the sandwiches better, pop or appeal.”
While Rygg recognizes that this may not bring Eau Claire’s signature sandwich, he said he hopes others get interested in the idea.
“We were all so excited when we learned about it,” Gomez said when talking about her and her peers’ reaction to the competition. “We have been working on this for a month, at least once a week practicing our sandwiches in the kitchen. So we are all super excited to be able to produce what we have devised, and Silver Springs has brought an amazing opportunity.”
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