UNLV student wins chef event

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Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2004 | 8:47 a.m.

UNLV culinary student Stephen Gillanders won the Almost Famous Chef national cooking competition last weekend.

Gillanders, 21, impressed the judges and crowd alike to win the contest's "signature dish" and "people's choice" competitions, securing him top honors.

Gillanders prepared a menu of cripsy skin cured salmon with Parmesan spinach cakes, Yukon gold potato puree, mushroom ragout, smoked salmon rillette and port beurre rouge.

Along with the title, Gillanders won a one-week trip to the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners in Italy, an appearance on NBC's "Today Show," and other prizes.

The contest was sponsored by S.Pellegrino waters and hosted at Mandalay Bay.