Brooklyn Cheese Experiment Recap

Righteous Burn table layout

The second installment of Nick Suarez and Theo Peck’s Brooklyn cook off competitions, the Brooklyn Cheese Experiment, was another success for the twosome. Unfortunate for me, I only had a limited time to spend at the venue hurriedly tasting, photographing and speaking to the competitors. But I made the most of my short time.

Since this was round two for me at The Bell House in Brooklyn, I knew to bypass the serpentine line and just cut my way in where ever I could. Oddly enough, the few contenders I stopped to visit with, turned out to be big winners. I must have been a good luck charm!

I thoroughly enjoyed the gentlemen labeling themselves as Chefs, Pirates, & Brothers, who created the #12 entry Righteous Burn. They created a quasi cheese steak with Asian marinated shredded beef, red onion and bell pepper sitting on mini Eggo waffles and topped with torched Swiss and Gruyere cheese. The flavors seemed slightly off, partially due to the bold cheeses they selected, but the meat and cheese combination was exactly what I had hoped to find at the event. I didn’t quite get the waffle part though.

The only non savory dish I found was the Ricotta Cheesecake made by the powerhouse sibling duo Working Class Foodies (otherwise known as Max and Rebecca Lando). The dish featured home made ricotta cheese, a shortbread crust, and home made sea salt dulce de leche. The samples were micro sized due to samples running low by the time I got to their table, but the taste was superb and not too sweet. Rebecca Lando had competed in the Brooklyn Beer Experiment and the two plan to launch their official website soon. Right now you can find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Mini samples, but big cheesecake flavor

I spent some time speaking with Bonnie Suarez who turned out to be the judges #1 pick for her three cheese crackers and tomato, ricotta, basil soup. I told Bonnie that she had one of the best presentations at the event and she agreed that some of her neighbors had messy stations. I asked her more about her crackers, and she divulged that she adapted a cheddar cheese cracker recipe she already had. Bonnie added Parmiggiano, Piave, and Provolone cheeses to make the flavor more complex for the competition. I actually thought the crackers tasted like a gourmet version of a Cheez-It.

Bonnie Suarez's Crackers and Soup

I have to say, my problem with the event, was the same problem as for the beer event. The layout and flow of the event was flawed. A bottleneck exists in the corner because the contestant tables create a narrow space making the line of hungry hipsters grind almost to a standstill. Hey Nick and Theo, great event again, but please address this bottleneck next time.