The Winner: James Lane
el Restaurante is happy to announce the winning recipes from our 2023 Sassiest Salsa Contest, sponsored by Sammic, a manufacturer of restaurant food prep equipment including blenders for salsa.
1st Place: Pickled Jicama Verde by James Lane, One World Catering, Bloomington, Indiana
2nd Place: Salsa Macha by Angel Miranda, Flying Taco Mexican Grill, Towanda, Pennsylvania
3rd Place: Salsa de Nopal by Christopher Morrill, Taco Shop, El Paso, Texas
The Judges: Chef Herve Guillard, Chef Enrique Fleischmann, and Chef Dudley Nieto
The winning recipes were selected by a panel of three judges: Corporate Chef Enrique Fleischmann at Sammic; Chef Dudley Nieto, Culinary Director at Fat Rosie's Taco and Tequila Bar, with 5 locations in suburban Chicago; and Chef Herve Guillard, Director of Education at the Institute of Culinary Education in Los Angeles.
“I found this sauce to be the most original, risky, and with a very sophisticated and elegant flavor result,” Fleischmann said when asked how he chose Lane’s Pickled Jicama Verde as the #1 salsa. “The jicama gives us a flavor and texture in this sauce that is very pleasant in the mouth.”
Lane, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio, said he loves highlighting unique ingredients from different global cuisines in his cooking, which led to his love of jicama. “I never see it being used in restaurants, so I wanted it to be the hero of my salsa,” he explained. “I have made pickled jicama for a brisket banh-mi in the past and loved it! Sweet and sour with great texture, pickled jicama is awesome!”
For Mexican/Latin dishes, James says his Pickled Jicama Verde salsa would be great on carnitas, black bean vegetarian tacos, or an upgraded version of avocado toast. “A tostada with sliced avocado, black beans, queso fresco, an over-easy egg and this salsa as garnish also would make for a great breakfast dish,” he adds.
“Sammic has been thrilled to be involved in this innovation and we have had a great time tasting, and learning how these chefs are pushing culinary boundaries,” said Neal Pearlman, Sammic’s sales director for North America. “Sammic is a manufacturer that sells extensively into Mexican restaurants and to customers who make Mexican, Tex/Mex and other Latin foods. As an innovative leader in this food equipment space, we want to inspire and reward innovation from end user chefs. We look forward to learning more in the years to come.”
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