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Local chef cooks up favorite dish at Super Bowl event

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February 24, 2010

by Emily Canning-Dean

Reporter

Twinsburg -- Even though Brandt Evans was in Florida during the 2010 Super Bowl, he was too exhausted to attend the game.

"I ended up in South Beach watching the game on television," said Evans, chef and co-owner of Blue Canyon restaurant in Twinsburg.

The day before the Super Bowl, Evans, a 1990 Hudson High School graduate, spent more than 20 hours cooking and serving his famous Lobster Bacon Mac and Cheese for 2,000 people during the Taste of the NFL. The event took place at a convention center in Fort Lauderdale.

"I don't know how many times I called out the phrase 'Lobster Bacon Mac and Cheese,'" said Evans, who had lost his voice by the end of the weekend. "Guests would come up to taste the dish and we would talk about the dish and Blue Canyon."

This annual event features more than 30 chefs each representing an NFL football team. Each chef prepared a signature dish for the party which benefits food banks across the U.S.

It was his first time at the Taste of the NFL, but Evans was confident his dish was well-received.

"We received a lot of compliments on our dish," he said. "I thought it was a good dish to represent Ohio. We enjoy our comfort food, but we have a developed palette."

Cooking for 2,000 was no easy feat, Evans said. He used 70 pounds of lobster, 24 quarts of heavy cream, 30 pounds of pasta and 100 pounds of cheese. Assisting him were one of his chefs at Blue Canyon, Danny Jenks, and line cook Pete Murdough.

"We prepared our food in this huge kitchen that had six walk-in coolers," he said. "There were 150 people working in this kitchen and it was like Survival Island. It was difficult to get a hold of something like a cutting board."

Evans represented the Canton Pro-Football Hall of Fame after being named the winner of the local Taste of the NFL contest in Canton in the fall of 2008. This local event raised money for the Akron Canton Regional Foodbank.

Evans was also the winner of the Canton Taste of the NFL in 2009 meaning he will represent the Football Hall of Fame at the 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas.

Although he is happy about the recognition Blue Canyon has received by participating in the Taste of the NFL, Evans said the most important element of the event is helping local food banks.

"They are especially important during rough economic times like this," he said.

Mark Mitchell of the Akron Canton Regional Foodbank said the local Taste of the NFL raised $53,000 at the 2008 event and $75,000 in 2009.

E-mail: ecanning@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3172




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