The 10th Truffle Masters win went to a dish of tapioca dumplings with caramelized Wagyu.
Image: Courtesy Daniel Ortiz
The Truffle Masters returned to Houston on March 4 for the 10th year in a row, bringing with it a night of delicious bites, great wine and spirits, and tons of entertainment.
Founded and hosted by Diane Roederer, owner of DR Delicacy, a local luxury food importer and distributor, the Truffle Masters was held at the Revaire this year and was sponsored by Houstonia. The one-night competition put 30 Houston chefs to the test to see who could most creatively incorporate the main ingredient—a pound of fresh black truffle—into a dish. And with votes in from about a dozen judges, chef Niki Vongthong of Hidden Omakase ultimately took home the gold—or one could say, the “black gold.”
Chef Niki Vongthong of Hidden Omakase took home the gold at the 2024 Truffle Masters.
Image: Courtesy Daniel Ortiz
For her winning dish, Vongthong used her pound of black truffle to create tapioca dumplings with caramelized Wagyu, salted radish, and peanuts, garnished with fried garlic and fresh shaved truffles.
Artisans, led by chef Erik Cruz, stepped up its game this year, earning second place. In 2023, the restaurant came in third place under chef Russell Kirkham. For this year’s dish, guests of the event were treated to a dish called Undergrowth Black Truffle Diamond Foie Gras, a replica of an actual truffle made from foie gras, with squid ink and black truffle inside, then covered in white chocolate that was colored with charcoal.
Artisans earned second place with a dish called Undergrowth Black Truffle Diamond Foie Gras.
Image: Courtesy Daniel Ortiz
Meanwhile, chef Jio Dingayan with Money Cat took home third place with an elaborate truffled Wagyu toast, which included a black truffle Japanese milk break, A5 Wagyu with yuzu kosho leek aioli, and fresh shaved black truffle. Dingayan also served a truffled foie taiyaki, comprised of a foie gras citrus cake with a black truffle pastry cream.
Money Cat’s chef Jio Dingayan took home third place with an elaborate truffled Wagyu toast.
Image: Courtesy Daniel Ortiz
General admission guests had a say in who got crowned with the People’s Choice award, giving out four tokens to the chefs who blew their taste buds away. Ultimately, attendees decided Killen’s Steakhouse in The Woodlands deserved the prize for its truffled pastrami with corn bread and truffle hot honey crafted by chef Luis Lopez.
Those who had VIP tickets were treated to three additional dishes that were separate from the competition, created by Baso chefs Max Lappe and Jacques Vernon, Ciel’s Micaela Victoria, and Love Croissant’s Omar Pereney.
Killen’s Steakhouse in The Woodlands won the People’s Choice award for its truffled pastrami.
Image: Courtesy Daniel Ortiz
Baso went with a caviar stroopwafel that was served with DR Delicacy’s Kaluga Black and Osetra Amber. Meanwhile, Ciel’s chef put together a dish called the Meteorite, featuring vanilla mousse, truffle honey caramel, peanut gianduja, and white truffle crunch. Finally, VIP guests indulged in Croissant et Caviar, a traditional Love Croissant topped with DR Delicacy’s Kaluga Black.
Between the star of the show—the truffles themselves—and ultra-luxe additions like foie gras and caviar, guests had enough to savor to last them until next year.
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