May 7, 2008 ~ Windsor, Ont.; The St. Clair Centre for the Arts unanimously won the People’s Choice and Critics’ Choice Awards at the 22nd Annual Battle of the Hors D’oeuvres Friday. It was the Centre’s debut year in the competition and it was up against some of Windsor’s finest food establishments, including Caesars Windsor, the Hilton and Bin 151.

“The competition was very tough,” said St. Clair’s Chef Daniele Palanca. “There were some really big names and some top-notch chefs competing. It honestly was an honour and a pleasure to actually be able to participate with them in this competition.”

Five-hundred and fifty people attended the food competition, which doubles as a fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters Windsor Essex. For the past two decades, local chefs have vied for the title of best hors d’oeuvre. This year was the first for the Critics’ Choice Award. The judges’ panel included celebrity Christine Cushing from Canada’s Food Network, along with local food bloggers and writers.

The hors d’oeuvres were judged on flavor, presentation and creativity. The Centre’s offering was designed to appeal to sight and scent, as well as the taste buds. It served up “Lamb with Spanish Flavours,” which was accompanied with a saffron vapour created by adding dry ice. It was the Centre’s salute to Ferran Adrià, a renowned Spanish chef associated with molecular gastronomy, a scientific discipline involving the study of physical and chemical processes that occur in cooking.

“It’s a really cool, hip, way of looking at food,” said Palanca. “We’re very limited to what we can do as far as dollars and cents, so we had to be very creative and we had to put in a lot of hours to be able to compete with the big boys.”

The Centre’s team of five put in long 12-hour shifts for three days straight in preparation for the competition.

“It was a lot of work, but it was worth the effort,” said Palanca. “We’re just trying to let people know that we’re out here and we do this type of thing everyday.”