ECC culinary students compete to create best burger
Three Elgin Community College culinary arts students will throw down Nov. 13 to create the best burger and for a chance to win scholarship money.
Michael Aderman of St. Charles, and Jessica Bahena and Manny Espino, both of Elgin, will face off in the ECC-Prime BurgerHouse Burger Competition at the Grand Victoria Casino, 250 S. Grove Ave., Elgin. The competition, now in its fifth year, begins at 2 p.m. at Prime BurgerHouse on the casino's ground level. It is open to the public.
The winning burger recipe will be featured on the restaurant's menu for one year, said Mark Bosanac, ECC professor of culinary arts and hospitality.
“That's better than anything,” Bosanac said. “The chef from the casino will also run some of the runners-up (recipes) for a week or so.”
Aderman's signature burger is slow-cooked barbecue pulled pork topped with creamy broccoli slaw on top of an 8 ounce burger. Bahena's creation features the casino house patty topped with sharp cheddar cheese, arugula tossed in fresh-squeezed lime juice, seasoned crispy onions, Nueske's bacon and Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce with a kick of chipotle peppers. Espino's burger consists a ground beef patty on top of fresh leaf lettuce, sliced red onions and a slice of grilled pineapple, topped with pepper jack cheese and marinated shrimp, between a toasted brioche bun layered with sriracha mayo.
The first-, second- and third-place winners will receive $2,000, $1,000, and $500 scholarships, respectively. The money is awarded by the ECC Foundation as a credit into their student accounts.
All three finalists also will receive a chef's coat, hat and apron, a Prime BurgerHouse dining certificate, a gift basket, and a certificate of participation.
Students can prep for the competition at home, but the burgers must be cooked on-site in 20 minutes.
“They can have a sauce already completed,” Bosanac said. “They can bring everything but the patties cooked naturally. They are actually cooking the raw burger and assembling it there.”
The three finalists were chosen from among seven students who competed in a semifinal cook-off at the college.
“We had close to 75 to 100 applicants initially,” Bosanac said. “We just filtered that down to seven semifinalists and did that based solely on application and photos.”
A panel of five judges, including hospitality industry and business leaders, will review the finalists' burger entries. Judges are: Mike Zema, former ECC culinary program coordinator; Art Velazquez, co-owner of Chicks 'n Salsa in Glen Ellyn; Jim Baumann, Daily Herald managing editor; Frank Redisi, owner of Cafe Roma in Elgin; and Ken Sevara, comedian and host of the “Fly By Night” show on 560 AM radio.
Guests do not need to enter through the casino's turnstiles or board the riverboat. Admittance is on a first-come, first-served basis.