Louisiana Food Prize is proud to announce that their premiere private dining experience, the Society of the Golden Fork, is back for 2020. A new crop of local chefs will be battling it out to be crowned the Food Prize Champion during Prize Fest, September 30 – October 4. Throughout the dinner series, each week’s competing chef will be interviewed to give more background on their experience. Up first is Chef Jon Ortiz from the Noble Savage Tavern.
Five years ago, Chef Ortiz migrated from Goldsboro, NC to Shreveport to study music and food. He got his start at Zocolo, working under many current restaurant and bar owners and had his own side project selling fried chicken in the parking lots of several local bars. After graduating from BPCC, he worked at The Port Grill before being invited to become head chef at The Noble Savage.
LA FOOD PRIZE: Tell us who you are, and where we can find you.
CHEF ORTIZ: My name is Jon Ortiz, and you can find me at The Noble Savage in Downtown Shreveport.
LA FOOD PRIZE: What do you think is the most exciting part about getting to participate in the Golden Fork dinner series?
CHEF ORTIZ: I’m excited to cook alongside a lot of other great chefs, and meet more people in the community.
LA FOOD PRIZE: What is one feeling you hope people walk away with after experiencing your food?
CHEF ORTIZ: I would hope they walk away with joy, a full belly and the idea that they’re going to tell a lot of people about the food and drinks we do down here at Noble Savage.
LA FOOD PRIZE: What is one thing you wish more people knew about your culinary skills?
CHEF ORTIZ: I wish people realized just how many handmade things we have here at Noble Savage. Besides just the food, all our drinks are made by those who I consider to be craftsmen and we have, hands down, the best old fashioned in town.
LA FOOD PRIZE: What food trend has you most curious at the moment?
CHEF ORTIZ: I’m intrigued by the use of koji, which is a mold, to boost flavors and quick age proteins.
LA FOOD PRIZE: What food trend would you like to see die?
CHEF ORTIZ: Tex-Mex.
LA FOOD PRIZE: If you could turn ANY location in Shreveport into a pop-up dinner venue what would it be and why?
CHEF ORTIZ: I’d use the old Zocolo location. It was my first job in Shreveport, with lots of memories, but also because I still think that place had the perfect set up.
LA FOOD PRIZE: Why do you feel events like the Society of the Golden Fork are important for culinary professionals and the community?
CHEF ORTIZ: They connect us all, make us all come a little closer, and give chefs the opportunity to stop drinking their own Kool-Aid. In the end, it contributes to making our food scene better.
LA FOOD PRIZE: What can we expect from you in 2020?
CHEF ORTIZ: You can bet that I’ll be at Noble Savage, continuing to help fine tune the experience there. The rest I have to keep a secret for now… don’t want to jinx it.
LA FOOD PRIZE: Finally, what would you like to say to your competitors in the Golden Fork?
CHEF ORTIZ: Be true to yourself. Make sure that what you put down on the plate is YOU, and remember to have fun.
ABOUT OUR DINNER SERIES
The Society of the Golden Fork brings 18 local chefs together for two private dinner sessions of 9 chefs each, filled with unique, off-the-menu experiences. Our program encourages participating chefs to flex their skills and test drive new culinary concepts before a limited audience of dialed in food lovers. However, it’s not just a private dinner club. Our chefs are in competition, further pushing them to develop thoughtful and exciting flavors that will make their meals memorable. Members of the Society of the Golden Fork judge each meal based on Taste, Presentation and Showmanship.
The four chefs from each session with the top scores move on to the semifinals, where they compete LIVE in front of a screaming audience to become our Battle for the Golden Fork contestants at Prize Fest in the fall. They’ll duke it out in the grand finale “Chopped-style” showdown for $5K, the title of Food Prize Champion, the Golden Fork trophy and bragging rights for the year.
Want to get in on the action of the Society of the Golden Fork series? Email Steven Knight at steven@prize.foundation for more info and to get on our waiting list for spots in the dinner series.
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