by Chef Brendan Gocheour, HEAL Treasurer
On a crisp October evening, nothing warms the heart more than seeing hundreds of people out to support the Empty Bowl, the Nest’s annual fundraiser and Lincoln County’s only soup competition. With over 30 soups to taste, and a variety of handmade bowls and pieces of fine arts and crafts to pick from, attendees were bound to have a great time while supporting the Nest.
First off, I want to thank everyone who came out to support this very important cause. Each one of you is a hero to us associated with the Nest, and to the women and children who reside there.
A whole hearted thank you goes out to Jamie and Shirley Estes. These wonderful people open their beautiful establishment, Mountain Annie’s Center for the Arts, each year to accommodate the Empty Bowl. As the number of soup makers and soup eaters grows, the Estes’ have expanded their generosity by allowing HEAL to flow through their gorgeous building.
This year, the Empty Bowl was held in the stunning Mountain Annie’s theater, where there was plenty of room to sample soups, bid on items in the silent auction and admire the ambiance of one of Ruidoso’s finest treasures.
A huge thank you also goes out to Susan Kolb, who entertained the crowd with her amazing musical panache and who was also awarded a plaque in honor of her late husband Paul, the very first winner of the Empty Bowl soup competition with his amazing Mulligatawny soup.
This year, the Empty Bowl soup competition was divided into two categories; non-professional and professional. The winner in the professional division was Jim Bradburn. Jim is the head of the dietary department at the Mescalero Care center and his winning soup was suitably named ‘Autumn Chowder.’ The soup featured acorn and butternut squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and apples and was topped off with candied pecans. Jim admits he did not use a recipe for this soup but relied on years of chef-wisdom and sharp taste buds to create this tasty seasonal soup. Recipe or not, this soup was certainly a crowd favorite.
The winner in the non-professional division was Liz Orben. Liz’s winning soup was fittingly named ‘White Bean, Chicken, Green Chili, Cheddar and Chili Soup’. The soup featured the ingredients the name offers and then some. According to Liz, the main ingredient of the winning soup was lots and lots of love. Liz moved to Ruidoso about a year and a half ago from LA. When she moved here, we were experiencing one of the most tragic disasters in our village’s history; the Little Bear Fire. Liz was so moved and inspired by the Nest’s generosity to victims of the fire that she knew she had to be a part of the Empty Bowl fundraiser to give back to an organization that gives so much to the community. When asked what she thought made her soup extra special, she thoughtfully answered- friendship. The recipe for Liz’s soup was given to her by the first person she met when she moved to the area, Em Gourley. Along with friendship and love, Liz’s soup won with the freshest ingredients, a stock made from scratch, and service by the spoonful with a bright and cheery attitude and bumble-bee inspired set-up.
Even though there were only two winners of the evening, that’s not to say every soup was not a masterpiece! Among the artfully prepared professional soups was Zanna Dobbs from Lawrence Brothers, Chris Randall from The Ranchers, Chef Shawn Seymour, Ray Collier from Bonita Park, Joseph Hernandez from Dream Catchers, Paul Stevens from Tinnie’s Silver Dollar, Mario Salas of Mario’s Market, and Jeremy Sheehan from Billy the Kid Casino. The delightful and delicious non-professional soups were prepared by Kathlyn Kennedy, Sue Hutchinson, the HEAL Staff, Rachel Weber, Lynn Myers, Dave Easter, Jean Gremillion, Fredrick and Lynn Moras and Joe and Shannon.
The Empty Bowl 2014 is already gearing up to be bigger and better than this year, so if you have even the faintest desire to brush off your ladle and join in on some fun and friendly competition, spend the next year perfecting your favorite recipe to help support a great cause.
And if you don’t cook but love to eat, come and meet some of the chefs from your favorite eateries, dine on the best soups in town and bid on some one-of-a-kind pieces of art to add to your home.
On behalf of the Nest and Heal, we look forward to seeing you all next year!
Pictured is Chef Brendan Gochenour, Treasurer of Help End Abuse for Life (HEAL)