Biscoff Bake-Off Recap

I've still got so much to share about our trip to Napa for the Biscoff Bake-Off, but I know I can't really blog about the fun excursions of the weekend without first giving you the scoop on the main event.

We were set up at the Williams Center for Flavor Discovery at the Culinary Institute of America.

I had my own { not so } little station....

... and an entire case of Biscoff cookies.  YUM.

Delta recorded the whole thing like Top Chef or Chopped.  Two flight attendants were there to host, and they were fabulous. Having a camera in my face didn't bother me the least bit { after all, one of the competitors greeted me with "Hey, you're the girl from that dress show!" },  but the time constraint was pretty stressful. Competitive baking is not for the faint of heart.

There were two other competitors... Atif, who brought Biscoff Baked Salmon, and Laurie, who brought Crispy Shrimp with Coco-Mango Sauce.  Both were delicious.

As you might expect, there had to be some drama.  Poor Atif was supposed to go on at 2:00, but at two 'till, when he went to take his dish out of the oven, the fish was still raw.  It appeared as if the pilot light in the oven had just gone out.

So we played musical time slots and I went first. { Life is uncertain, anyway. } I ended up kind of liking that I got to go first. It let me set the bar and not feel like I was already being compared to someone.

All three judges were very, very kind.  From left to right above:

• Herb Karlitz - Founder and President of Karlitz & Company, Producer of Flavor! Napa Valley
• Andrea Robison - Delta's Master Sommelier and host of Pairings with Andrea on Food Network { she's one of only 14 female Master Sommeliers in the world! }
• Chef Stephen Isaac - of the Culinary Institute of America, American Culinary Federation and Retail Bakers Association

Herb said, "I'm from New York and I know cheesecake. This is good cheesecake." { What a compliment! } Andrea praised that the cookie flavor remained intact throughout the dish.  And Chef Stephen noted that the cheesecake wasn't overly sweet, which was a good balance with the decadent salted caramel topping. He literally picked his slice apart, tasting the crust alone, then just the cheesecake, then the filling, the topping and finally every layer together. His palate was the one I thought would be most apt to find an error.

But the reaction was good. More than good, even. Because they unanimously chose my Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake as the winning dish!

My face hurt from smiling so much. And I won trips to Food & Wine Festival in NYC and LA in 2012. { Hello, culinary dream vacation. }

Delta will use the footage on their Facebook page, and maybe even for in-flight entertainment.  Either way, I'll definitely link to the video when it's up.

All in all, not bad for a first attempt, if I do say so myself. Now, to finish another one of these cheesecakes for Thanksgiving tomorrow. After 27 years, I've finally been asked to bring something. Guess a little external validation never hurts. : )

At least they sent me home with half a case of cookies!