HOW THIS ALL STARTED
ABOUT THE 1st COOKOFF
Part Top Chef, part Iron Chef, the firsts Cookoff took place in October '06 in Kara's backyard in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, and it was thrown together on the fly. But the response was incredible. We had 8 'chefs' and about 50 guests eating dogs. The chefs ranged from amateurs to real hot dog aficionados. One team of chefs, representing Rawley's hot dog restaurant from my college town of Fairfield, CT came complete with a deep fryer for the competition. Other chefs grilled, boiled, and pan fried their dogs with such creations as a Buffalo Wing Style Dog with Archie Moore's hot sauce and blue cheese, the RI version of the NY System wiener, a take on the classic Katz Dog, and a Venezuelan Dog topped slaw, mustard, ketchup, mayo and potato chip crumbs. The winning dog was a Pesto Dog, served in a hollowed out Italian roll, and wrapped in pesto sauce and mozzarella.
Volunteers entered their name into a hat when they arrived at the party. From the hat, 7 judges were picked. These judges created a list of requirements from which they would judge the dogs. Over the course of the afternoon, there were several heats in which the chefs would present their dogs to the judges (and the audience), and the judges would provide their commentary in front of the guests and the chefs (like the Iron Chef judges.) The highest scoring dog at the end of the event was crowned the winner.
Last year's Cookoff doubled as a fundraiser for BARC, an animal shelter in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where Kara met here cat, Cayenne. It's a great shelter and they were the recipient of $700 in proceeds for the event.
This year's Cookoff is benefiting the NYC Food Bank. With 100 guests, at $15 per person, this year's goal is to be able to donate about $1500 to this great organization.
ABOUT THE FOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY
Food Bank For New York City and its subsidiary, Food Change, Inc.'s mission is to end hunger by organizing food, information and support for community survival and dignity.
The Food Bank For New York City, a member of America's Second Harvest, The Nation's Food Bank Network, was founded in 1983 to coordinate the procurement and distribution of food donations from manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and government agencies to organizations providing free food to the city's hungry.
They provide 68 million pounds of food annually to more than 1,000 emergency and community food programs — including soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, low-income daycare centers, Kids Cafes and senior, youth, rehabilitation and outreach centers — throughout the five boroughs of New York City.
The Food Bank helps provide 250,000 free meals a day for New Yorkers who otherwise would go hungry or not eat enough, who are largely comprised of women and children, the elderly, people with disabilities and the working poor.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
Kara Masi of Ted & Amy Supper Club-- Under the tutelage of her mother, a Rhode Island home economics teacher,
Kara developed a love for home cooking early on. By the age of 17,
Kara mastered her famous Kara’s Marinara Sauce, the recipe which has since
been published in the limited edition ‘Yummy In My Tummy’ recipe anthology.
She began her illustrious culinary career at The Olive Garden,
and has since become the mastermind
behind countless culinary affairs such as
The Annual Great Hot Dog
Cookoff 2006 & 2007, and
Thanksgiving 2006 & 2007, and co-host/chef of the widely acclaimed Ted & Amy Supper Club. When Kara is not cooking, she is either watching
reality tv, playing with
cats, or working as a
communications consultant/web designer.
Cathy Erway of Not Eating Out in NY-- Cathy began her studies in amateur cook-offs at the Chili
Takedown, under the direction of Matt Timms. Having received honors at both The
Brooklyn Kitchen’s Bodega Challenge and No-Knead Bread Bake-Off and suffering
crushing losses at the Salsa Takedown and Emily Farris’ Casserole Party, she
turned to hosting events first with the creation of the Risotto Challenge last
April. Cathy brings to the Hot Dog Cook-Off her experience in talking with her
mouth full, drinking too much, and blogging about all things home-cooked at
www.noteatingoutinny.com. Despite her late grandmother’s wishes, her favorite
activity is playing with her food.