Paterson, New Jersey – On Tuesday Oct. 23, students from The Culinary School at Eva’s Village will compete in the 2ndAnnual 2018 Kontos Foods Cooking Challenge #KFCC18, vying to create the best Sweet and Savory Dishes using Kontos Foods’ Fillo dough. Both Kontos Foods and Eva’s Village are located in Paterson, N.J.
Kontos Foods is known for its flatbread and award-winning Fillo dough. Also known as phyllo, the dough gets its name from the Greek word “leaf” for its paper-thin consistency. Kontos Foods sells it in sheets of varying thicknesses, from the thinnest #4 (perfect for hors d’oeuvres), #5, #7, on up to #10, which is the thickest variety, perfect for country-style pies such as strudel. Kontos Foods’ Kataifi Dough is sold as finely spun strands of Fillo, which bakes into golden strands.
Last year 27 students from the Culinary School at Eva’s Village competed in the first Kontos Foods Culinary Challenge. Divided into teams, they created dishes with Kontos International Pastry Puffs, also known as known as Loukoumades in Greek culture. Winning recipes included spun-sugar birds’ nests (with a cotton-candy-esque filling), pecan pie and mango puffs. Savory dishes included a deep-fried chicken potpie and Greek-inspired lamb puffs.
Last year’s judges are back: Kontos Foods Corporate Executive Chef Demetrios Haralambatos, and Chef James Cwynar, Culinary School Director at Eva’s Village.
“After last year’s impressive showing, we can’t wait to see what the students will make,” said Chef Haralambatos, who was recently appointed to The Culinary School’s Advisory Board. “Fillo can be intimidating to beginners, but once they master the basics, it opens the door to endless creative options. Some of the most delicious and beautiful desserts in the culinary world are fillo-dough wrapped creations.”
About The Culinary School at Eva’s Village: The Culinary School at Eva’s Village was established in 2013 as a private vocational school for adults, certified by the N.J. Departments of Education, and Labor and Workforce Development. The focus of the six-month program is to train and place students in the food service industry where they can build a culinary career. Professional chef instructors guide students through five training modules in a state-of-the-art training kitchen providing weekly opportunity for real-life practice in Eva’s Village Community Kitchen. The final module is an industry internship. Students graduate with a certificate of completion and ServSafe® Certification. The program reports a 93 percent job placement rate.
Eva’s Village: Eva’s mission is to provide care and support for people who are struggling with poverty, hunger, homelessness, and addiction. To that end, Eva’s Village provides a recovery-oriented community of supportive services which include food, shelter, addiction and mental health treatment, childcare, job training, medical and dental care, and housing. Through 36 years of service in the Paterson community, Eva’s has established a unique record in helping individuals struggling with poverty, addiction, and mental illness. Our organization has grown from a simple soup kitchen into one of the most comprehensive and respected providers of treatment, recovery and supportive services in New Jersey.
About Kontos Foods
Founded in 1987, Kontos Foods, Inc. is a Paterson, New Jersey-based provider of artisan breads and traditional Mediterranean foods for restaurants, hotels, food service, retail specialty stores and supermarkets worldwide. The family-owned company specializes in hand-stretched flatbreads, including the Kontos Pocket-Less Pita®, Fillo dough, pastries, olives, gyro meats, and Greek yogurts, as well as over 60 varieties of multi-ethnic flatbreads. Kontos Foods has over 275 employees and was founded by Evripides (Evris) Kontos and his son Steve, who together bring over 100 years’ experience in the premium food industry. The company’s bread and Fillo products are Made in the USA. Visit http://www.kontos.com or call (973) 278-2800.
