News

by Nick King

As you entered Hank’s House on Saturday afternoon you were hit with a wave of flavors, as the five finalists of the Gildan Green Chile Challenge were hard at work trying to win money for their APS High School.

“The cool thing is the people here don’t even have kids that go to the school they are just trying to raise money for their alma mater,” said Jessie Juergens who was in charge of running the event.

The challenge started back on December 3^rd and ended with the finals on December 10^th. The five finalists were Rick Schmille (Manzano), Shelia Ramirez (Manzano), Tim Martinez (Manzano), Michelle Zebrowski (Sandia) and Carri Phillis (El Dorado).

All participants cooked a traditional green chile stew except for Sheila who went with a green chile chicken enchilada stew.  The official judge’s panel included Chris Hanks of Hank’s House, Jane Butel, Annittra Atler – Mrs. New Mexico United States 2010 and Jeff Siembieda -- Executive Director for the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.

After taking about 30 minutes to taste test the different stews and discuss which one’s were their favorites, the judges came to a decision on the winners:

1^st place:  Michelle Zebrowski (Sandia-$2,500)

2^nd place: Sheila Ramirez (Manzano-$1,500)

3^rd place: Rick Schmille (Manzano-$1,000)

An excited Michelle Zebroski had this to say about her win, “I’m stunned, I can’t believe it. It really is an honor. I competed against some incredible cooks today. I’m just really happy this is all benefitting my alma mater.”

Michelle’s stew is also the official green chile stew of the Gildan New Mexico Bowl this year, where Jane Butel will mass produce the recipe for those at this year’s fan fest (December 17^th from 9am to noon by University Stadium).

Community members also showed up to the sample stews and vote for a “people’s choice” winner to receive a gift card for $50 and Gildan® products. The award went to Carri Phillis.

“This is a tremendous event," said Siembieda. "For Gildan to come into this community and be so proactive in embracing our culture and our schools shows their commitment to the people of New Mexico. I can’t wait to do it again next year.”

photos by Nick King

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