Harvest Fair winners announced

Published: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at 2:54 p.m.

Folks grazing through the Sonoma County Harvest Fair Awards Night this Saturday will enjoy lots of global-inspired flavors along with a bounty of local, seasonal products.

Among the big winners this year in the hotly contested category of best appetizers are the Kabab & Curry House of Santa Rosa and Nit’s Thai Creations of Guerneville.

So if you’re going to the gala, make sure to search out some refreshing rieslings, gewurztraminers or sauvignon blancs to go with these yummy, ethnic eats.

Here are the top winners in the fair’s professional food competition:

APPETIZERS

— Best of Show: Fountaingrove Golf and Country Club in Santa Rosa for its Wild Mushroom Lasagna with Herb Mushroom Reduction.

Fountaingrove Executive Chef Christophe Preyale, who took over the kitchen three years ago, described the dish as a blend of fresh pasta and wild mushrooms sourced from Sonoma Organics, topped with a rich bechamel sauce and some acidic, sun-dried tomatoes.

“I like always to work with one flavor and not go in too many directions,” Preyale said. “To me, it’s really simple, but you get the right flavor. Every time you take a bite, you get the mushrooms and the tomato.”

— Nit’s Thai Creations won the Sweepstakes Appetizer award for accumulating the most points; the Guerneville restaurant also won Best Use of Sonoma County Vegetables for its Fresh Spring Roll with Tofu.

— Kabab & Curry House in Santa Rosa won two awards: Best Use of Sonoma County Poultry for “Murgh Chaat,” a chicken salad made with potatoes, chickpeas and tamarind-mint yogurt dressing; and Best Use of Sonoma County Lamb for its lamb chops in a pomegranate-yogurt sauce.

— Grapevine Catering in Guerneville won two awards for one dish: Best Use of Sonoma County Seafood and Best Use of Sonoma County Wine for its Creamy Corn Grits with Roasted Prawns.

— Oliver’s Market in Cotati and Santa Rosa won Best Use of Sonoma County Cheese for its cheese course with fruit.

— Johnny Garlic’s of Santa Rosa won Best Use of Sonoma County Beef for its Bloody Mary Flank Steak.

BREADS

For the second year in a row, Costeaux French Bakery & Cafe in Healdsburg won Best of Show in both of the bread categories: Best of Show French Bread for its sourdough deli roll and Best of Show Specialty Bread for its multigrain batard.

CAKES AND PASTRIES

Oliver’s Market took Best of Show for its Chocolate Orange Mousse Cake, while Michele’s Corner Custom Cakes of Santa Rosa took Best of Show for its Wedding Cake with white cake and chocolate mousse.

“There was a great diversity this year,” Anne Vercelli, Harvest Fair food judging coordinator, said of the cakes and pastries category. “We saw a lot of chocolate, fruit tarts, cheesecakes and classic princess cakes.”

DESSERTS

The Bear Republic of Healdsburg won two awards — the Sweepstakes award and Best of Show — for its Pear and Italian Prune Plum Cobbler.

DELICATESSEN

Santi Restaurant of Geyserville won Best of Show Delicatessen for its Calabrese Salami.

OLIVE OIL

The culinary team at Kendall-Jackson Winery won Best of Show Olive Oil for its Sonoma County-grown oil.

VINEGAR

Terra Sonoma Food Co. of Geyserville won Best of Show Vinegar for its verjus.

WINE LIST

— Syrah Bistro of Santa Rosa won Best of Show Wine List

— Village Inn & Restaurant of Monte Rio won Best Sonoma County Wine List

GIFT PACKS AND BASKETS

Matanzas Creek Winery in Santa Rosa won Best of Show, Gift Packs and Baskets