Pop-up Crowned National Lamb Jam Tour Champion

As this year’s Lamb Jam Tour crisscrossed the country stopping in Austin, Boston, Washington D.C., Seattle and San Francisco, a doughy trend emerged: with over 60 chefs competing nationwide, each of the best-in-show winning chefs took home the gold by serving some style of dumpling.

The recent Lamb Jam Finale was ultimately a dumpling showdown, featuring Italian tortellini and tortelloni as well as Indian manti, Chinese dumplings and Filipino empanadas. And amidst the first snow of the season, on a small farm in Lyons, Colorado, Chef Danica Aviles of San Francisco pop-up Pinoy Heritage took home the national title of Lamb Jam Tour Champion with her Lamb Adobo Empanada.

In addition to awarding the 2018 championship trophy, the event provided the occasion for an exciting announcement: Denver will be added as an official stop on the Lamb Jam Tour in 2019, the 10th year of the tour.

To view photos  from the Lamb Jam Finale, visit the Lamb Jam Tour Facebook and Instagram— @LambJamTour.

 

2018 Lamb Jam Finale Competitors

• Austin: Chef Jacob Weaver of Juliet – Neck Sugo with burrata tortelloni, broccoli rabe, fresno chile

• Boston: Chef Lars Taylor of The Honey Paw – Lamb Dumplings with aromatic broth, matsutake, leeks, annatto oil

• Washington, DC: Chef Dimitri Moshovitz of CAVA – Braised Lamb Shoulder with goat cheese tortellini,  pressed roasted lamb belly, lamb fat celery root puree, lamb demi, pickled mustard seeds, truffles, chives

• Seattle: Chef Jason Stoneburner of Stoneburner/Bastille – Lamb Manti with lovage yogurt, aleppo pepper, mint

• San Francisco: Chef Danica Avilas of Pinoy Heritage – Lamb Adobo Empanada with corn, peppercress, pickles

About Lamb Jam Tour

Made possible by the American Lamb Board,  Lamb Jam Tour is an epic chef competition and culinary experience that brings together the most talented chefs at each of the tour stops (Austin, Boston, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.)  to celebrate the 80,000 family operated farms and ranches raising sheep in the U.S.

This year’s Tour Finale brought together fifty of Denver’s most respected food media, chefs, ranchers and industry professionals for a blind tasting at The Farmette in Lyons, CO.  The tasting was accompanied by wines from Infinite Monkey Theorem (Denver, CO), beers from  Funkwerks (Fort Collins, CO), and cocktails created by Kayla Arrigo (Bar Manager at Hilton Garden Inn, Boulder, CO) featuring spirits from Spirit Hound Distillers (Lyons, CO).