Photo Credit: Jon Pesochin, www.jonbenjamin.ca Last Friday, breakfast disguised as dessert and dessert stole from salad. The three finalists of our third annual U.S. culinary student competition heated up the kitchen with their creativity, taking home newfound fame and fortune thanks to their flair with the pear. Chaz O’Neill’s Pomegranate Pear Stuffed Toast combined the naturally sweet flavors of (real) maple syrup, pear, and pomegranate in a dessert that looked like breakfast. Chaz, who hails from New England, prepared for the contest like a true student of cuisine, packing his secret ingredient—maple syrup from a local sugar shack—carefully in his suitcase. He was understandably nervous, then, when his luggage was lost in transit. Luckily, he received his suitcase (with maple syrup bottle intact) just two hours before he had to begin prepping his dish for the panel of prestigious foodservice Continue reading →