ANNABEL COHEN
Special to the Jewish News

C

hicken soup. Just a reference
to this kitchen basic brings
about the desire for a piping
bowl full.
Your memories about chicken soup
are likely more than fond, they're
downright sentimental. Maybe chick-
en soup brought you through periods
of runny noses, or kept you warm on
nippy nights or was an indispensable
course for important holiday meals.
The type of soups you prefer are
probably the same type your grand-
mother made. They may also include
ingredients and preparation character-
istics that reveal your family's ethnici-
ty
Lemon and greens in a soup sug-
gest a Mediterranean lineage. Cubes
of tofu and scallions hint of the ori-
ent. And fluffy spheres made of
crushed matza and egg reveal a decid-
edly Jewish bent.
.It's no wonder Temple Kol Ami in
West Bloomfield decided to repeat
last year's . Ultimate Chicken Soup
Contest, which culminated in a deli-
cious finish last Friday.
. Nearly 150 soup-making hopefuls
from around the state sent in their
favorite recipes for the Second Annual
Ultimate Chicken Soup Contest. And
some weeks ago, a panel of judges,
including a chef, food lovers, writers
and a rabbi, conducted a prejudging.
Judges Sylvia Rector, food writer at
the Detroit Free Press, Chef Keith
Famie of Adventures in Cooking from
WDIV-TV Channel 4, Keely
Wygonik from the Observer &
Eccentric Newspapers, Paul Wertz of
Excellence Too Catering and Rabbi
Norman Roman, rabbi at Temple Kol
Ami, looked over the various entries
and narrowed their choices to 10.
Each contestant was also asked to
submit brief explanations of the entry
soup's origin.
Last Friday, each of the finalists
was asked to bring a crock-pot full of
his or her chicken soup, recipe to Kol
Ami for the final judging. With
spoons poised and bowls brimming,
the evaluating began. Judges dove
into the noodles, rice or. matza balls,
vegetables, and a myriad of secret and
not-so-secret ingredients.
Top honors went to Carolyn
Silverstein of Franklin for her thick
and hearty Lemon Rice Soup with
Artichokes and Spinach. Second prize
was for the team of "Chili Joe" Wnuk
and "Chef Curtis" Rellinger of

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Food

Westland for their Dr.
Benjamin Overstreet's Chicken
Soup. Third place was awarded
to John Gallagher of Grosse
Pointe Woods for his Old
Fashioned Twice Boiled Soup.
Although some of the
entrants were regular folk who
cook as a hobby or everyday
for their families, some are
very involved in the business of
food.
Chili Joe, who sports his
trademark string of faux
sausages and his grandmother's
measuring spoons on a chair
around his neck, and Chef
Curtis also ha v e real jobs dur-
ing the day. In their spare time
they also host a local cable tele-
vision cooking show, which
airs on Mondays and Fridays
in Westland,
Plymouth/Canton and
Northville.
The pair began entering
cooking contests 10 years ago.
t‘4 ■ 3k.,k
"We entered a chili cook-off
and won," said Chili Joe.
"Now we enter other cook-
offs, serve on taste panels and
judge other contests."
Other contestants, like
third-prize winner John
Gallagher, a commercial and
residential builder, just love to
cook. "My family says I make
the best soup," said Gallagher.
"When I heard about the con-
test, I thought it would be a
fun thing to do."
First prize for the best soup
was a feature segment on Keith
Famie's Adventures in Cooking
as well as a deluxe soup pot
from Kitchen Glamor.
Second prize was a dinner
for two at Restaurant di
Carolyn Silverstein's winning recipe is loaded with chicken.
Modesta in Southfield and
third prize was a cookbook
my husband and I enjoyed," said
winning soups. And, are according to _
from Kitchen Glamor.
Schotterfels,
"the
best
remedies
for-
Carolyn Silverstein. " We both love
The contest also serves the greater
winter's ills, and for the whole com-
Greek Lemon Rice Avgolemono soup
good, providing a prize for 600+ to
but I wanted to eliminate the choles-
munity's."
savor. The first-prize recipe will come
Note: If you'd like to donate
terol in this classic egg-rich recipe.
to a boil again later this month and
toward the ingredients necessary to
The addition' of chicken meat makes
be ladled out at the Capuchin Soup
make this soup for the Capuchin
it a meal, and spinach and artichoke
Kitchen in Detroit, which serves
bottoms add color and texture:"
Soup Kitchen, please contact Temple
meals to people in need.
Kol Ami.
1 6-pound stewing hen
"That is the most important aspect
.3
quarts water
of this soup contest — social action,"
LEMON RICE SOUP WITH
1 cup baby carrots
said Lee Schotterfels, first vice presi-
ARTICHOKES AND SPINACH
3 ribs celery with top leaves, sliced
dent of Temple Kol Ami and an orga-
"The following soup was created
2 large onions, peeled and halved
nizer of the event. "The real benefit
when I was experimenting with com-
2 bay leaves
of this contest is that the soup will
1 14 1/2-ounce can artichoke
bining leftovers to create a heart-
feed hungry people on March 22."
smart yet tasty soup with ingredients
bottoms, drained
The following recipes are for the

Manna

rom

a

A chicken soup contest is narishi
or the tast-ebuds and local souls.

Staff photos by Krista Husa

Living Well