The big winners, Betty and Alvin of Paletas Betty

​Last Friday night, Smeeks hosted Chow Bella's 3rd Annual Caramelpalooza, and phew, that was a TON of caramel. As author of the blog's Dessert First series, I was asked to be one of five judges.

Thanks to all of the ice cream/candy/cookie/popcorn/paleta makers for bringing their creativity to the table and for leaving us all with quite the sugar rush. A special nod goes to the winners:

Beatriz "Betty" Alatorre de Hong of Paletas Betty took home the big prize for her Platano Paleta. Several readers expressed concern that a popsicle doesn't fairly represent caramel, but it is in fact a super flavor-packed frozen delight. Showcased in all of its glory, Betty's homemade caramel is the paleta's primary flavor, and añejo rum and chunks of frozen banana are mixed in to make it a bananas foster. This Best in Show is definitely well-deserved.

More >>

​ Hundreds of you came out to lick, crunch, chew and otherwise gobble caramel confections prepared by 18 of the Valley's finest chefs Friday night, all part of the third annual Caramelpalooza, co-sponsored by Smeeks and Chow Bella.

We might be a little biased, but we think it was our best 'palooza yet.

Big thanks to our collaborators at Smeeks/Frances, to Stinkweeds for awesome music, and to Short Leash Hot Dogs for providing some much-needed savory relief after the sugar. Chow Bella-ites Caitlin McQuarrie, Shelby Moore and Lauren Saria were a terrific help, and we're always beyond grateful to Jackalope Ranch's Claire Lawton.

Our blind tasting judges -- Shannon Armour, Dominique Chatterjee, Denise Clayton, Christopher Gross and Sheila Krueger -- risked life and limb dental work to painstakingly choose their favorites, and of course the crowd did, too. Thanks for braving the lines, people! We tried something new this year, spreading out the tables. Some of you loved it; others not so much. Either way, we appreciate your feedback.

The biggest thanks of all goes to the 18 chefs who slaved in the kitchen to create some truly amazing caramel. Later this week, Dessert First's Dominique Chatterjee will give a more detailed rundown of the sweet stuff; for now you can check out our slideshow. (And if you'd like more info about any of the 18 chefs who competed, check out our profiles here.)

Oh wait, you want to know who won, don't you? Well, why didn't you say so?

More >>

Claire Lawton

​Anyone else have a wicked sugar hangover this morning?

Thanks to all -- chefs, judges, caramel eaters -- who came out to Smeeks candy shop last night for the third annual Caramelpalooza, co-sponsored by Smeeks and Chow Bella. Folks began lining up at 5:30, descended on the candy/ice cream/paleta/sauce/cookie makers by 7 and the confections were wiped out by 8 -- making the night short but very sweet. 

So who won?

More >>

Shelby Moore

​
From now through Caramelpalooza -- tonight, March 2 at Smeeks candy shop -- Chow Bella will introduce you to the 18 chefs participating in the third annual caramel tasting. Today, meet Aimee Sosa, a chef at the Phoenix Public Market.

Aimee Sosa may have fallen into cooking by accident, but she got there with a little natural baking talent. Sosa was the pastry chef for Royal, the beautiful little coffee shop inside the Phoenix Public Market. Do you remember the bacon brownies that were the talk of downtown? Those are Sosa's doing, and we gave her a Best of Phoenix award for them in 2010. 

Not too long afterwards, Chef Wade Moises asked her to transition to become a full-time market chef. Being a jack of all trades, not only did she fit right in, but she felt right up to the task to making some treats for Caramelpalooza.

More >>

​

From now through Caramelpalooza -- March 2 at Smeeks candy shop -- Chow Bella will introduce you to the 17 chefs participating in the third annual caramel tasting. Today, meet Slade Grove of Slade Grove Creative Gourmet.

With a commitment to "over-the-top indulgence," Slade Grove has been making an impression on the Phoenix food scene for years. His work as a "missionary and evangelist of the dessert experience" has even caught attention on the national level from well-known media outlets like the Oprah Winfrey Show.

If I had my own Food Network show it would be called Obsession - a show about candies, confections, and sugar work.

More >>

Ando Muneno

​
From now through Caramelpalooza -- March 2 at Smeeks candy shop -- Chow Bella will introduce you to the 18 chefs participating in the third annual caramel tasting. Today, meet Veronica Arroyo of Bourbon Steak.

Veronica Arroyo is the executive pastry chef at Scottdale's ritzy Bourbon Steak and has been baking professionally for over a decade. She just recently returned from Gourmet Abu Dhabi, an event where she helped represent American cuisine on the world stage.

More >>

Tags:

bourbon steak, caramelpalooza, smeeks, veronica arroyo

Shelby Moore

​
​From now through Caramelpalooza -- March 2 at Smeeks candy shop -- Chow Bella will introduce you to the 18 chefs participating in the third annual caramel tasting. Today, meet Eliana House.
Eliana House pretty much grew up in the restaurant that her parents named after her, Eliana's - one of the only joints serving true Salvadoran cuisine in this town. She's in nursing school at the moment, but House still helps her parents with the cooking - like the pork and cheese pupusas with coleslaw. She recently took up the project of making caramel apples; she started making them for her four year-old and for her friends' birthdays parties, but has turned the project into a business as of this year - topping them with ingredients like white chocolate chips, candies, and even savory cheese snacks.

More >>

Shelby Moore

​

​From now through Caramelpalooza -- March 2 at Smeeks candy shop -- Chow Bella will introduce you to the 18 chefs participating in the third annual caramel tasting. Today, meet Amanda Crick , Pastry Chef at the Tonto Bar and Grill.

Amanda Crick is a self-taught pastry chef who worked her way through past generations of Cave Creek restaurants ever since she wasn't old enough to work, until she started plating desserts at the Tonto Bar and Grill. Crick fell in love with it, climbed her way up the ladder making breads and contributions to the desert menu, and remains there today as their pastry chef - heading an operation that also serves Cartwright's Sonoran Ranch House up the street. Her favorite desserts on the seasonal menu that uses native ingredients are the buttermilk chocolate cake and the lemon pie. Oh, and occasionally her job means playing with caramels - like the ones that use piloncillo caramel, foraged prickly pear, and salted piñon nuts.

More >>

 

Claire Lawton

​From now through Caramelpalooza -- March 2 at Smeeks candy shop -- Chow Bella will introduce you to the 17 chefs participating in the third annual caramel tasting. Today, meet Brendan McCaskey.

Brendan McCaskey tells Chow Bella he "lives downtown, and loves downtown!" A Scottsdale Culinary Institute graduate, he's currently on a kitchen "vacation" -- these days McCaskey's the full time manager at Smeeks. We're curious to see how he follows his debut at Caramelpalooza, last year's peanut butter & jelly.

When I'm not in the kitchen, you'll find me at the Roosevelt Growhouse. I've been a regular volunteer at the urban garden on Sixth and Garfield streets since September. It's a great place to spend my Sundays -- working in the garden with my friends and other community neighbors. We're starting a new community plot program, and starting next month, I will be planting my own garden bed. I see cucumbers and summer squash in my future!

More >>

Eric Tsetsi

​From now through Caramelpalooza -- March 2 at Smeeks candy shop -- Chow Bella will introduce you to the 17 chefs participating in the third annual caramel tasting. Today, meet Brady Breese of Urban Cookies.

A self-taught baker, Brady Breese started Urban Cookies several years ago with his wife, Shaun, who handles the marketing while Brady creates recipes and oversees quality control. He's no novice when it comes food competitions: Last year he won the Food Network's Cupcake Wars!

More >>