Chef is Almost Famous
Daniel Beal, a junior at Johnson and Wales University in Denver, won the S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition in Las Vegas on Jan. 31 and will compete for the national title March 9-11 in the Napa Valley, Calif. His winning dish, Pan Roasted Chicken Breast with Asparagus, Potato and Ox Tongue, was a reinterpretation of a classical Escoffier dish.
Raised in Overland Park, Kan., Beal says his mom is coaching his dad on culinary terms “like the five major sauces” so that he can accompany him to the next competition at the the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa. “It was nerve-wracking but interesting to be able to work under that pressure,” said the 20-year-old, who hopes to “move to a different country and learn different kids of cuisines” when he graduates next year.
