The Rose Group, a leading franchisee of Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar and Corner Bakery Cafe restaurants, hosted their 2016 Top Apple Chef competition, an annual head-to-head cook-off where Applebee’s chefs from across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland crafted their best signature dish, vying to take home the coveted title.  This juried competition tests culinary creativity and technical skill, and rewards the inventive use of ingredients commonly found in the Applebee’s kitchen.  This year’s winner from the Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Applebee’s location, took home the Top Apple Chef winnings with a savory Butcher’s Steak Salad.

“This competition lets loose the skill, creativity and passion in our local Applebee’s kitchens,” says Jeff Warden, president and CEO of The Rose Group.  “What we enjoy the most is seeing creativity explode off of the plate and the camaraderie among the contestants. The fierce competition pushes our chefs to new levels.  Our staff works hard to better their craft, and this competition showcases many of the reasons why we are so proud of our team.”

The top two finalists each used items new to the Applebee’s kitchen, the wood-fired grill and hand-cut USDA Choice steaks. Runner-up Stephanie Walter represented the West Hazelton, Pennsylvania, location and created Glazed Wood Fired Kebabs that included just the right amount of mild oak smoke.  Manuel “Alex” Castelan of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, brought home the title of Top Apple Chef  by balancing the crisp summer taste and texture of fresh cut vegetables and the savory flavor of USDA Choice grilled steak to create his Butcher’s Steak Salad.

The Top Apple Chef competition began with store finals, followed by district semi-finals, district championships, and finalized with the championship.  Each round featured a head-to-head competition where chefs completed their dish within a predetermined amount of time; a format similar to many Food Network cooking competitions.  

“While it certainly features our chef’s technical culinary experience and ability to perform under pressure, this competition has always showcased how well our various locations can blend to create a community” explained John Kulak, Director of Food and Beverage at The Rose Group. “Our chefs challenged each other to create traditional family dishes that were precisely executed with influences from around the world, creating technical, delicate and delicious works of art. This is the passion that our chefs bring to their Applebee’s kitchens every day, and the culinary expertise they put to work serving our customers at each one of our neighborhood locations.”

The chefs who competed in this year’s competition were:

·      Manuel “Alex” Castelan of the Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, location created the Butcher’s Steak Salad

·      Stephanie Walter of the West Hazelton, Pennsylvania, location created Glazed Wood Fired Kebabs

·      Keith White of the Easton, Pennsylvania, location created a Chipotle BBQ Chicken Pizza

·      Brad Brown of the Salisbury, Maryland, location created a Southwest Steak Fajita Rollup

·      Ben Cartwright of the Westminster, Maryland, location created Double Crunch Cheesy Chicken Balls

·      Erik Johnson of the Bel Air, Maryland, location created Buffalo Chicken Eggrolls

·      Alan Sanders of the Newtown, Pennsylvania, location created Pub Style Sheppard’s Pie

·      Julius Santana of the Roosevelt Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, location created a Philly Cheese Steak Grill

Each finalist took away a specialty chef knife, a cash prize and an engraved plaque to be displayed in his or her store.  The Top Apple Chef, Chef Castelan, took home the top cash prize as well as a flat screen TV and the Top Apple Chef trophy.  

About The Rose Group

The Rose Group, headquartered in Newtown, PA, is the 43rd largest restaurant franchise company in the United States. They currently own and operate 56 Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurants in Eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware. The company is the first franchisee for Corner Bakery Cafe, operating seven cafes in Eastern Pennsylvania and two in New Jersey. The Rose Group also co-owns and operates two Shannon Rose restaurants, an independent Irish pub and restaurant in North Jersey. More information on The Rose Group can be found on their website at www.therosegroup.com.