Congratulations to Chef Brett Teegardin from Purple Woodinville. His Vietnamese-style "Sticky Lamb Belly with Pickled Vegetables and Scallion Pancakes" was the clear favorite of six food writers who sampled all 15 dishes at today's Lamb Jam, and also got the nod as the favorite dish of the 500 lamb-lovers in attendance. It was the first time the judges and the public agreed on a winner.
In the past nine years, Larry Kurovsky's Heavy Restaurant Group has grown from a single, wine-focused café in Woodinville to a mini-empire of eight restaurants and a catering kitchen, variously known as Purple. Barrio. Lot No. 3, Cast Iron Studios and The Commons. Something like 1,000 seats; payroll close to 700 (those are Tom Douglas-range numbers). Teegardin alone supervises a staff of 40-some in Woodinville.
Cornichon visited the Bellevue Barrio five years ago; we were blown away by a transcendent pork shank. As for Teegardin, who's been exec chef for almost four years, He already has lamb inn his repertoire (roast leg of lamb, lamb meatballs); this double-win should remind food snobs that Purple is good for more than wine and pasta. .
The format in previous Lamb Jam events has been a sort of macho throwdown between restaurants and amateurs using various cuts of lamb. (Cornichon, you may recall, was a contestant two years ago.) This year, four chefs in each of four styles of cuisine: Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Latin.
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