Results are In – Second Annual Top Chef Emergency Food Cooking Contest Big Success, Full House Enjoys Food, Fun & Emergency Preparedness

Posted on by Editor

A big thank you to all who attended the Emergency Volunteer Corp of Nehalem Bay’s 2nd Annual Top Chef Emergency Food Cooking Contest! It was a fantastic evening of fun, food, and exuberance with a bit of emergency preparedness sprinkled in. The event’s success was way beyond our wildest dreams! The capacity crowd had a blast watching the contestants ‘cook’ and the judges taste their amazing creations. It was a very close contest this year, and everyone had a fabulous time.

Congratulations to Kim Koch who was the winner of the Top Emergency Chef contest with her not so sushi rolls and filo cup dessert. Her creations were truly inspiring and delicious. And a special shout out to Mark Kuestner and India Downes-LeGuin for their amazing talent – their dishes were outstanding and creative.  They all gave us some fabulous ideas for how to prepare food without heat or water that tasted and looked fantastic!

Thanks also to our amazing judges – Eric Kammerer from Yolk, Frank Squillo from Wanda’s and James Lambert a former chef/baker who lives in Bay Side Gardens – they got to eat amazing food and had the challenging task of picking just one Top Emergency Chef.

 We hope all those who attended enjoyed the presentations and were inspired to include more interesting items in their emergency food stocks – the possibilities are endless as proven by our contestants. You can indeed prepare delicious and maybe even nutritious meals during disasters!

For more details about what the chefs made, click here

EVCNB Top Emergency Chef -Take 2 – Contestants Left to Right: Kim Koch, first prize and Top Emergency Chef, India Downes-LeGuin, second place and Mark Kuestner, third place

Go forth and be prepared!

Trish Johnson, EVCNB’s current President, introduces the contestants and tells the audience how the contest will run.

Our esteemed judges, left to right, Eric Kammerer from Yolk, Frank Squillo, from Wanda’s, James Lambert, retired former baker and chef

Contestants performed to a sold out crowd at the Pine Grove Community House

Entrees

Kim Koch (2025 Contest winner) So Not Sushi: Tsunami Roll
India Downes-LeGuin, second place Chili Garlic Tofu Noodles

Mark Kuestner, third place – Tonnino with Bean Salad Tsunami and Pesto Potatoes

Desserts

Kim Koch (2025 Contest winner) You Can’t Nutella Me it’s not Lemon Mousse Duo

India Downes-LeGuin, second place

Mark Kuestner, third place

Jo Newhouse leads the auction of the contestants’ entrees and desserts. All proceeds from the auction will be used to purchase GoBags for families in need.

For more information about the Emergency Volunteer Corps of Nehalem Bay, go to www.evcnb.org.