Lakewood Ranch chef competes in World Food Championships

LAKEWOOD RANCH -- A Lakewood Ranch chef's recipe, along with his success as a chef won him a spot to compete in this year's World Food Championships.

This week, Louis Robinson competes in the recipe category at the World Food Championships. If he wins the category, he'll win $10,000 and move on to compete with the winners of eight other categories for a $100,000 grand prize. More than 350 teams will compete at the World Food Championships with more than 1,100 individual competitors.

Robinson is among other elite restaurateurs and chefs at the World Food Championships.

"The vast majority of these competitors have earned their way here through qualifying events that are World Food Championship qualifying events," said Mark Thien, spokesman for the World Food Championships. "They are already champions in local or regional cookoffs. We have assembled the best of the best."

Robinson, 31, grew up in Oakland, Calif. He lost his father as a kid. He worked his way from a line-cook position in Oakland to being a general manager of a Mexican restaurant to working as a prep chef at Whole Foods in Sarasota. He now has Spice, a pop-up restaurant, which is a menu-consulting and private chef business.

Robinson won a recipe contest on chefsroll.com, a chef networking website. The World Food Championships marks his first time in a live-cooking competition.

He turned in two dishes in the first round of the World Food Championships competition Thursday morning. On Saturday he'll find out if he moves on to the final competition on Tuesday.

"I was a little nervous but once the bell rings and you start cooking you just go into your mode," Robinson said. "We're really happy with what we turned in."

The World Food Championships moved this year from Las Vegas to Kissimmee for several reasons.

"Florida has an amazing culinary scene and with the tourism aspect there are travelers who want to be educated and have an experience vacation," said Thien of the World Food Championships. "The products with Fresh from Florida, too; all the vegetables and all the fruits and meats and dairy, if you go up and down the line of any ingredient that we need for the World Food Championships, there's an amazing supply here in Florida."

Second only to beach or waterfront activities, Florida's culinary scene is why 34 percent of domestic visitors vacationed in Florida in 2014, according to Visit Florida research.

The Lakewood Ranch chef also will compete on Friday in a smaller competition organized by the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Robinson and two other competitors will have five minutes to create the recipes they submitted to the departments in October.

During Friday's competition, their dish will be judged on execution, appearance and taste by a panel of three professional chef judges, said Mara Gambineri, communications director for the Florida Department of Health.

Each entry in the Fresh from Florida challenge has to contain one source of protein, have food items of at least two colors, use no salt added or low-sodium products, be completed in five minutes or less and use at least two Fresh from Florida vegetables or fruits, meaning in-season produce grown in Florida.

Robinson's recipe, Aqua Chile, is a signature ceviche he's made for clients in his private chef business. The shrimp is "barely kissed to a hot pan," he said, and is then soaked in lime juice and hot chile to finish cooking. Robinson and two other chefs, Rochelle Vincent of Oviedo, northeast of Orlando, and Sherri Williams of Crestview, in the Panhandle, were selected from a pool of 25 chefs from Florida. If he wins the Fresh from Florida competition, he'll bring home $2,500.

Robinson has worked with many different styles of food, but he specializes in and enjoys using Latin and Carribbean flavors. His dishes have what he calls a "California twist."

"Growing up in California there's a lot of emphasis put on fresh vibrant ingredients and beautiful presentation," Robinson said. "It's taking the flavors of Latin America and the Caribbean and elevating it using modern techniques."

Robinson discovered his love for Caribbean flavors when he traveled to Jamaica with his wife, Joan. The Robinsons moved to Southwest Florida not because of business opportunities but because their strong Christian faith led them here. They belong to the Faith Life Church in Sarasota and "always put God first."

After working at Whole Foods in Sarasota, Robinson worked as a chef de cuisine at the Arts and Eats Restaurant in Bradenton's Village of the Arts. In January, he launched Spice.

"Ever since we came out, everything has really worked out with housing and jobs and everything," Louis Robinson said.

Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow her on Twitter@jayohday.

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch chef competes in World Food Championships ."