Atlanta Chef Wins 'Best Young Cook in the World'

Daniel Gorman, the chef de cuisine on the Terrace Level of Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta, won the Hans Bueschkens Junior Chefs Challenge in Daejeon, South Korea earlier this month. The 23-year-old chef represented the United States in an international competition sanctioned by the World Association of Chefs Societies with a meal that had to feature sterling halibut AOC Kobe strip loin, and Korean strawberries, and competed against chefs under 25 from Sweden and Italy, whose chefs placed second and third, respectively, as well as Australia, China, Germany, and the UAE. Now, following his victory, Gorman is considered the "best young cook in the world."

The contestants were given 60 days to plan their menus, according to a press release from the American Culinary Federation. Gorman says his game plan was to create dishes that were "simple with highly-focused technique and flavor" and that emphasized seasonality and American food. He prepared buttermilk-braised halibut with a spring asparagus and pea salad, lemon yuzu vinaigrette, mustard gastrique, leek fondue, and a smoked proscuitto crisp for his fish course. The Kobe dish had sous vide strip loin with carrot puree, sauteed fava beans, wild mushroom timbale, beef stew croquette, red onion jam, and veal jus, while his dessert was a strawberry mousse cheesecake on a lime biscuit with strawberry compote and an upside-down strawberry float.

Also from the Cherokee Town and Country Club is pastry chef Heather Hurlbert who appeared on Top Chef: Just Desserts Season 1.
· American Culinary Federation [Official Site]
[Photo via ACF]