Blueberry Recipes Developed at Taipei Competition

Here are just a few of the great recipes developed at the Taipei Chef Competition:

Interesting dishes!

Above: Chefs look at their day's work!

Below: This one lost something in the translation!

Ingredient Seminar Taiwan

While Chef John Hui was in Taiwan, he cooperated with the USDA Agricultural Trade Office to conduct a seminar for local bakers.  It was a full house at the KaiPing Culinary School in Taipei and attendees learned how to make blueberry cheesecakes, health bars with dried blueberries.  He concluded the days event with an exciting pulled sugar art demo!

More from the Taipei Contest

Here is the team behind the scenes at the United Tastes of America Competition in Taipei!

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From Left to right:
Kathrine Lee, ATO office, Mandy Chen (USHBC-Taiwan), Sue-Sun Wong, Consultant to USHBC Taiwan, Mark Ford, ATO Taipei.

United Tastes of America Chef Challenge! Taipei Round!

The USDA-Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in Asia are conducting the annual Chef Challenge.  The concept:  several of the regional Agricultural Trade Offices (ATO) in the region are in the process of hosting country culinary contests.   Teams from hotels and restaurants compete in a one day competition.  The winning team goes to the finals in Tokyo in the Spring.

This year, USHBC became sponsored sponsor of the Taiwan competition and participated in the event.   Frozen blueberries were part of the "black box" of ingredients used by the culinary teams.

Here are some photos from the event.



Chef Judges meet in advance of the competition.   On right is our very own Chef John Hui of the Lodge at Pebble Beach who is a big blueberry booster and friend of our industry!



Judges work with the chefs.

USA Grown and Processed - Blueberry Extract!

Now this is big news!!!
For years there have been blueberry and bilberry extracts for sale.  Most, if not all are made from European bilberries (vaccinium myrtillus).
Here is a wonderful new product from Futureceutical -- Van Drunen Farms of Momence Illinois.   Van Drunen has been a pioneer in the nutraceuticals area (functional food).   This offering will gobble up a lot of blueberries and give buyers at home and abroad a safe choice of USA blueberries!

Still More from the California School Conference!

Random ET Sightings at the CSNA conference.

Here is an example of a "commodity processor."  Turns frozen blueberries, commodity butter and wheat into McDonalds style fruit pies.

Suppliers provide great gimmicks like this boogie board and skateboard to schools for promotions.

100 percent juice "slushies!"