The Sunnyvale Sun
News
Sunnyvale cook takes second place in contest
By ERIN HUSSEY
Sunnyvale resident Lisa Quan's recipe for cheesy chicken tortilla soup has won second place in Le Boulanger's "Create Your Way to a Weekend Getaway" recipe contest. More than 660 recipes were submitted.
"I was totally thrilled," Quan said.
"It was exactly what I wanted; I didn't want first. I actually entered because I want to win second prize, which is dinner at the French Laundry and two nights in Napa."
Quan, who cooks only once or twice a week, started cooking for herself when she graduated from college and got a job. She now works as a risk analyst in the fixed-income department for American Century Investments.
"I usually start off with a recipe and tweak it as I go," Quan said.
"I don't think I'm a good enough cook to do it freestyle, but I really love to cook."
Quan's style of cooking was how she ended up creating her award-winning soup recipe.
"It is basically a mixture of all the best parts of three different recipes," she said.
The soup includes poached chicken breasts, crushed tomatoes, various spices and peppers, lime juice and Velveeta cheese, plus just the right amount of spice and taste to catch the eyes and tongues of judges at Le Boulanger.
"I thought it was an excellent soup," said Le Boulanger CEO Dan Brunello.
A team of 12 judges, including those from inside and outside the company, had the challenge of selecting 31 semifinalists, producing and tasting those 31 dishes and then deciding on the top five.
"We evaluated on several different criteria," Brunello said.
"The ingredients they use, the quality of the recipe, how complete it was and would we be able to produce it.
"There was more than one soup in that final 31, and hers by far was one of the best. It had really great aroma and great taste, so we were excited about it."
Five judges participated in a final taste-off on Oct. 4. Quan's soup came in second to San Jose resident Michelle Myers' broccoli cheddar soup.
The recipe contest, a first for Le Boulanger, was launched as part the bakery's 25th anniversary celebration.
"We pride ourselves on community involvement, and we thought this was an excellent opportunity to get the community and our customers involved in helping celebrate our 25th anniversary," Brunello said.
"We had initially felt that if we had 150 entries we were doing real well, so to have 660, we were just absolutely delighted."
Le Boulanger was founded in 1981 and is a family-owned and operated business headquartered in Sunnyvale and serving the South Bay and the Peninsula. The company has 17 area locations and specializes in fresh baked bread and pastries. Le Boulanger also offers a full café menu with sandwiches, salads and soups. The company is now looking to add the first-place recipe to its menu.
Brunello said, "Taking a small, homemade batch recipe and conforming it into production volume there are hurdles, but we're hopeful."
LeBoulanger is not releasing any of the submitted recipes at this time, including Quan's. The company hopes to publish a compilation cookbook, with all the profits going to charity. "I think the project has a lot of life left," Brunello said. "It's been a 10-plus, there is no question."
As for Quan's trip to the French Laundry and Napa, she is unsure who she'll bring along. "I would take a boyfriend, but I don't have one," she said, "so I need to find one first. Maybe I should have a contest for that."
