Chef Vincent Gilliard -- Top 10 Contender of the San Pellegrino 2019-20 Young Chef Competition -- to Host Live Cooking Demo Featuring SnapDragon Apples.

LOCKPORT, N.Y., Jan. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Crunch Time Apple Growers' SnapDragon apple variety is hitting the big apple once again. Chef Vincent Gilliard — top 10 contender of the San Pellegrino 2019-20 Young Chef Competition — is giving a cooking demo in NYC at The Union Square Kitchen on January 15, 2020 for 50 home cooks featuring an appetizer topped with SnapDragon apples that he created himself along with a SnapDragon signature recipe.

"I'll be presenting a very simple yet delectable recipe that starts with a toasted crostini," says Gilliard, "followed with whipped maple boursin cheese, cauliflower roasted with oil, salt and pepper, toasted pecans, and it's all topped off with slices of fresh SnapDragon apples." This two-hour demo is sure to have mouths watering — and have these cooks dying to get home and try making it themselves.

"What's great about an event like this is that is shows everyday cooks that these types of gourmet recipes are accessible and possible to make at home," says Rena Montedoro, Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Crunch Time Apple Growers. "It's also great exposure for SnapDragon because this type of cooking demo showcases one of our two managed apple varieties and focuses on presentation — as well fresh ideas for combining ingredients that pair well with and enhance the natural crunchiness of the SnapDragon apple."

Gilliard grew up in Sodus, NY which is right in the heart of Western New York State's apple region. And as he was preparing his winning recipe for the San Pellegrino Young Chef Competition, he used SnapDragon apples as a key ingredient. And just what was the San Pellegrino Competition Dish that floored the judges? A veal mosaic roulade, herb chicken mousseline, bacon consommé, butternut squash puree, SnapDragon apple and root vegetable terrine, fire roasted cinnamon beurre blanc, brandy braised pear and foie gras pave, and apple cider fluid gel.

So when Gilliard was asked to prepare an appetizer for this Big Apple cooking demonstration to go along with the signature recipe, he naturally thought of incorporating a New York State apple once again — a SnapDragon apple — the same incredible apple featured in the recipe that awarded him as a top 10 contender San Pellegrino Young Chefs competition.

When he's not giving cooking demonstrations, Vincent Gilliard is the Chef de Cuisine at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY — one of the nation's premier golf clubs which has hosted both the Masters and the Ryder Cup.

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When you bite into a Crunch Time apple, you're not just tasting an incredible apple, but the incredible love and labor of 147 family farmers across New York State. Every Crunch Time apple is non-GMO, super crunchy, delightfully juicy, beautifully colored and carefully grown. Plus, when you purchase a Crunch Time apple, you're not only biting into a little history, you're helping to sustain the future of family farming for generations to come. For more information please visit crunchtimeapplegrowers.com, Snapdragonapple.com or Rubyfrostapple.com. 

SOURCE Crunch Time Apple Growers