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Old Acquaintance Appears
At Chefs' Culinary Art Show
DANNY RASKIN
Local Columnist
H
e looked so familiar,
yet I had trouble
placing him . . .
Richard Benson must have
seen my furrowed brow and
started rattling off familiar
names and places.
Now executive chef and in-
structor at Schoolcraft Col-
lege, he was with Chef Geza
Lang and Sammy Lieberman
at the former Raleigh House
. . . with Ted Moss at Calvert
Catering . . . with Harvey
Bloom at Bloom's Catering
. . . with Pancho Valez at the
London Chop House . . . as a
14-year-old, Dick started
work in the pantry at former
Statler Hilton on Washington
Blvd. and left 22 years later.
Today he is also executive
chef and catering director at
Masonic Temple . . . plus his
Schoolcraft College culinary
arts duties.
We had met again during
the recent media pre-showing
at Golden Mushroom, Ten
Mile and Southfield, of this
Sunday's large cuisine corn-
petiton . . . in fact the
Midwest's biggest 15th An-
nual Hospitality Industry
Culinary Art Salon . . . at
Oakland Community College,
Orchard Ridge Campus in
Farmington Hills, sponsored
by the Michigan Restaurant
Association and Michigan
Chefs de Cuisine.
Golden Mushroom was host
for the recent 1988 press par-
ty .. . with many of the ex-
hibitors showing food writers
what the finished products
will look like.
Reid Ashton opened the
Golden Mushroom Aug. 1,
1972 . . . and together with
Master Chef Milos Cihelka
has made it one of the finest
dining spots in Detroit'z,
metroplitan .--..-glun.
One of the Golden
Mushroom entrees is a house-
smoked salmon that's a world
beater . . . Reid, Milos and
Chef Paul Yousoufian,
Culinary Salon chairmen, are
highly proud of their
smokehouse in back of the
restaurant . . . an entirely
separate entity used solely for
smoking those delicious offer-
ings served at Golden
Mushroom.
The culinary salon is a com-
petition for chefs . . . Food is
artfully displayed and judged
for its originality, presenta-
tion and workmanship . . .
Gold, silver and bronze
medals are awarded to the
best creations.
Over 400 works of culinary
art, entered by professional
chefs, apprentices and
students, will be on display.
Visiting a culinary salon is
much like visiting an art
gallery, only the medium is
food instead of paint and can-
vas . . . As a preservative, a
clear aspic gelatin is applied
in layers to many of the ex-
hibits, sealing them from the
air and preventing
discoloration.
Professional chefs and ap-
prentices from the Great
Lakes area will display over
100 platters and buffets of
their finest cold food, hot food
(displayed cold), and pastries
. . . The student competiton,
running concurrently, will
feature works by food services
students from high schools
and colleges across the state.
Last year, spectacular ice
and tallow centerpieces,
decorated cakes, fish and
other food items were popular
attractions.
The public is invited to view
the salon entries this Sunday,
11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The student competition
takes place in Building H,
while the works created by
apprentice and professional
chefs will be displayed in
Building J . . . Admission
tickets are $3 and valid for
entrance into both exhibits.
This year, the Hospitality
Industry Culinary Art Salon
will include a new competi-
tion, where chefs prepare five-
course meals to be served to
judges and ticket holders .. .
Called the "Chefs Mystery
Basket Tham Competiton,"
six teams of three profes-
sional chefs will be given two
baskets of food from which
they must compose two dif-
ferent five-course meals for 18
necple . . . Judges and ticket
holders are then served the
meals and awards given after
dinner.
Tickets for the Mystery
Basket Competition dinner
are $35 per person . . . and
available from Paul Yousou-
fian at the Golden
Mushroom, 559-4230, or the
Michigan Restaurant
Association, 484-2444 . . . The
dinner includes a champagne
and hors d'oeuvre reception,
tour of the OCC kitchens as
the chefs prepare their meals,
the five-course dinner and
awards ceremony.
CHARLEY'S RESTAU-
RANTS throughout the
metropolitan Detroit region
have renamed their lounge
areas to "The Charley Horse
Saloon."
HE MAY BE nicknamed
"The Polish Prince" . . . but
Bobby Vinton's favorite foods
are anything but . . . Give
him spaghetti and potato
chips and the songster is in
heaven . . . Bobby is appear-
ing through this Sunday at
the Omni Star Theatre on
Plymouth and Farmington
roads in Livonia, a mile south
of 1-96 . . . singing his "Blue
Velvet," "Red Roses," and
"There, I've Said It Again"
big hits . . . Comedian Tony
Garland opens the show for
him.
GOOD WAITRESS Dept.
. . . Greetis "Sam" Morales
. . . at Alia's Restaurant on
Greenfield north of 11 Mile
Rd. . . . efficient, personable
and always pleasing . . . days
but also a few evenings .. .
Thursday and Sunday and
whenever needed.
There's also highly capable
Barbara Herkowitz, Alia's
floor manager waitress and
18-year-old Hebrew student
Renee Blatnikoff who pre-
pares salads and assists the
waitresses in other chores.
Alia's is very clean . . . A
Hagopian truck comes there
monthly with its high-
powered vacuum hoses to
clean the upholstered booths
and carpeting . . . Every night
when customers leave, the
waitstaff cleans mirrors and
washes tables . . . Every Mon-
day morning, a company
comes in to clean places
waitresses can't get at, plus
going over the lassies' work.
Owner Ed Farrah's wife,
Dunia, also helps hubby as
she handles cashier chores
daily, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
. . . Alia's beautiful greens
and browns, fish tank, pain-
tings, well-appointed surroun-
dings, include a menu of five
fresh fish dishes among a
wide low-priced dining
variety.
NEXT IN THOSE very
popular wild game dinners at
Golden Mushroom, Ten Mile
and Southfield, is this Mon-
day . . . Hot and cold hors
d'oeuvres and wines at 6:30
p.m., dinner at 7:30 p.m. with
wines at each course . . .
Limit is 42 persons . . . $100
includes tax and tip.
Next month's dinner is
April 25 . . . different menu
but otherwise same info as
this monday . . . Both are very
high culinary experiences .. .
Reservations are a must.
WHERE IS DEPT. ...
Fritz Spademan . . . The well-
liked gent who brought in
owts%
Restaurant
Reservations Suggested
1990 Hiller Rd.
(Old Orchard moll
682-1347
Off Pontiac Trail to Old Orchard Trail
To Hiller Road
Restaurant
AT APPLEGATE SQUARE
Southfield
Northwestern Hwy. at Inkster Rd.
Dining and Cocktails
For Dinner Reservations: 353-2757
EARLY DINNER SPECIALS
7
MONDAYS THRU SATURDAYS 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
•Fresh Whitefish
With Raspberry Buerre Blanc
•Chicken Breast & Artichoke Hearts
With Linguini Marinara
•Petite Frog Legs, Roadhouse Style
With Homemade Tartar Sauce
•Grilled Provimi Calves Liver
With Sauteed Onions
$ 95
Dinners Include: Soup du jour, tossed salad,
potatoes, fresh vegetables and
French bread and butter
J
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Radisson Plaza Hotel
At Town Center
1500 Town Center, Southfield, Michigan 48075
(313) 827-4000
For Reservations Worldwide
800-333-3333
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
79