A panel of celebrity chefs recently named Brett Youmans, of Reading, PA, America’s “Top Amateur Chef” in the second annual LG Electronics USA “Taste of Something Better” cooking competition. He will go onto compete in the global championship, which will be held in Seoul, South Korea.
The competition, which recently took place in Beverly Hills, CA, had three finalists— Youmans, Paula Mannino of Spokane, WA, and Lou Kostura of Belmont, CA—working in a LG kitchen to perfect their dishes. Judging the competition were Ted Allen, host of the Food Network’s Chopped; Tim Love, season two winner of Iron Chef America; Michael Voltaggio, chef de cuisine at The Dining Room, Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena; and Top Chef Masters competitor Ludo Lefebvre.
Youmans was crowned the winner for his orange-scented lamb skewers atop watercress and roasted fig salad with baked goat cheese crisps prepared on the LG induction cooktop. Kostura was awarded first runner up for his crab-stuffed pork tenderloin, and Mannino took home second runner up for her chicken cacciatore with polenta recipe.
“It was a great experience to compete in front of an audience and have my dish judged by such culinary talent. All of the finalists did a fantastic job, and it was exciting to compete against them,” said Youmans. “I’m thrilled to be going to Korea to represent the U.S. in LG’s global cooking competition.”
The three winners received a variety of LG appliances, while Youmans also earned a trip for two to South Korea to compete in LG’s global cooking competition.
