Lefty Like Me

2nd place in GCI Missionary. 3 trophies for 1 serious sandwich.

It has been a very exhausting whirlwind of a trip that had included tons of cheese and laughs, drinking and dancing, and winning and losing.   I learned a lot from the Karma Sutra and feel the Ballsy Boy did pretty damn good, considering it also went up against MTV’s Robert Dyrdek and his Glee club that came to compete.  I hear here really cared about grilled cheeses so mad props for that, but the rest of the show was a little too much for cheese-town.  That and he mysteriously got front and center for him and his chaotic club.  I actually got more of a chance to meet a lot of cool competitors, some I had even competed against in other cooking competitions like SF Food Wars.

Yet in the end it was the brick and his trick that took yet another trophy home to make 3 total trophies for this legendary sandwich.  (2 firsts and the 2nd place yesterday in Missionary)  Thank you all who voted for this sandwich and I hope to take some of the advice I heard out there about my sandwich and its serving so we can bring it back to the top next year.  But luckily I got 364 more days to not worry about that.   The Brick’s Trick did well and I will admit here and now that the man who beat me had a damn good grilled cheese (although if I mentioned the bread that beat mine……ppl would cry) and a damn good little cheese topping to go with it.

Beautiful day.  Major crowds.  Fun to compete against the MTV Glee Club.  Awesome grilled cheese fans.  Awesome after party.

1st heat should have waited until the crowds were in the pen before we started.  2nd row got shorted a bit.   Award ceremony hella rushed because of some announcements that should have gone AFTER.

Great job Tim, Tillamook, and all those volunteers and people that make this fun ass event possible for the cheese chefs of the USA to come and share our creations.  Thanks TT for teaching me the art, beauty, and simplicity of cooking.  Until next time, there is always the Oakland Art Mur …….. ..

2nd place Missionary Man.

Brick’s Trick Maker

3 time winning cheese champion (and 4 if 4th places count)

Michael D

(Ballsy Boy was still delicious and gained some serious followers.  Respeckt)

Articles:

http://freshneasybuzz.blogspot.com/2010/04/thousands-get-cheesy-at-fresh-easy.html

http://dailycollegian.com/2010/04/25/wicked-cheesy-ring-in-u-s-grilled-cheese-month-in-good-taste/

http://uncouthgourmands.com/2010/04/24/my-time-at-the-1st-8th-annual-grilled-cheese-invitational/

http://biggieville.blogspot.com/2010/04/grilled-cheese-invitational.html

http://grilledcheeseinvitational.com/

First Press Release About the Kid and his Brick…..and his Grandma.

So I had to do a little google searching of the contest to see if anything has arisen with results and what not and found this little piece from the Los Angeles Decider.  Thanks to the reporter who took such detailed notes as I was frantically making my creations!!!! Also another thanks to Acme and Cheeseboard!!! And my Grandmother! And a Happy Birthday to my brother who gets his sandwich when he gets out to California next month….

Recap: The First Seventh Grilled Cheese Invitational  

Hand/Brick Action

A full review of the event with some hope for a cheesier competition in the future!

GCI 2009 Review by LAist

This one has a nice breakdown of the winners with the name’s of the sandwiches too! Grandma’s Glory #1

Los Angeles Times: License to Grill

While cooking yet another night of grilled cheeses for local friends who wanted to see the latest winning sandwich I was shown a competition that was so ridiculous it made my win that much more legit.  It is something worth sharing for sure…..

Grilled Cheese Invitational 2009: Through the Lens of the Leader.

I chose Missionary because the registration first said it was hardest to win.  

I chose missionary because if you can’t show somebody you know how to do it well the normal way they’re not going to believe you got the skills to get wild with them.  And I want to and I will cheese fans.

For now….I give you a slideshow of my way from the familiar East bay down the glitz and the grill marks of LA. As I said before, I wanted to go down to LA for the first time and leave the dream….a celebrity of sorts.  I am honored and humbled by those who voted for me and can only thank my foodie family and friends that have always shared time with me over the pots and pans.  

I hope to share some of the different experiences and very, very funny stories from the event in the days to come but first have to prepare for tomorrow night’s “Family Night”, a cooking Tuesday tradition among friends, which of course will be a grilled cheese victory party with everyone getting to take on the champ himself!  

It will be nothing compared to the throwdown that was the Grilled Cheese Invitational of 2009: