Firm Holds Cooking Competition Involving SPAM®
Raises Money for Hope Street
Apr 21, 2009
On Friday, April 17, 2009, eleven teams of the firm's attorneys and some staff members participated in a cooking competition at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota. Each team prepared two dishes that were presented to a distinguished panel of judges including, William Van Brunt, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Carlson; Andy Horstman, Senior Legal Counsel for Intellectual Property Litigation at Medtronic, Inc.; Chef Steven Shapley, Director of Education at Le Cordon Bleu; Courtney Mault of Minnesota Law & Politics; and Martin Lueck, Chairman of the Executive Board at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P.
Each dish had to contain a 12 oz. can of SPAM® and consist of no more than 10 ingredients. They were judged on taste, originality and plating and there was no shortage of creativity. Dishes included Eggs Benedict; Santorini Snacks; Sushi; Hash with Eggs in Mustard Sauce; Crab Cakes made with SPAM®; Cheviche; Moose, Bear, Beer and SPAM® Brats; Stuffed Peppers; Pot Pie; Pizza and Juicy Lucy's, to name a few. However, it was the winning team from the firm's corporate department who "Wowed" the judges with their Bloody Mary's made with SPAM®. They will be entered to represent the firm in the 2009 SPAM® contest at this summer's Minnesota State Fair (recipe to be determined).
"This was a great event to hold a friendly competition among our peers and to involve our clients in the judging portion of our competition," states Jan M. Conlin, Chair of the Business Litigation group at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. and creator of the firm's competition. "This year we asked our team participants to consider making a donation to our designated charitable recipient, Hope Street. Hope Street provides emergency shelter for homeless or runaway youth ages 16 - 20. We have raised just over $15,000 to-date," she added.
"It was a fun evening and the talent these lawyers have in cooking is quite interesting," states Martin R. Lueck, Chairman of the Executive Board at the firm. "It is rewarding to work with these talented individuals who gave it their all and came together to have fun and raise money for a charity that is in great need of funding," he adds.
Related Links