FIRST PLACE: SAVORY

In the tightly packed tent, there is barely enough room for four people, let alone six. Chef Rafael Lopez is hard at work at the crowd-facing tables, plating his award-winning pomegranate-braised short rib with celery root purée and crispy onions. He hands off a few plates to waiting customers and turns back to his team, filling in as someone else leaves for their break. It’s a seamless transition, a dance they’ve performed countless times before in the kitchen of Parque 1055.

Customers fade back into the hustle and bustle of the festival, smiling and thanking them. People are enjoying their food, walking away with a smile, chatting with each other, occasionally striking up conversation with the chefs themselves.

FIRST PLACE: SWEET

There is a sense of closeness, of community. It reminds Chef Craig Hurlbut why he likes it here in California. Everyone here is experiencing something new for the first time, even annual attendees, and he gets to be a part of that with his ancient grain spelt cake with puréed orange, lemon and lime zest. Glazed with citrus and sprinkled with cornflower petals, it’s really a work of art. Sharing flavors and combinations in ways they haven’t seen before. Casa Pacifica is an event that encourages innovation, novelty.

This year, both winners were new names in the Casa Pacifica Yummie Chef competition, but they are no strangers to the restaurant scene.

Before coming to Parque 1055, Lopez worked in kitchens longtime readers may find familiar. Locations like the Four Seasons Hotel, the Ojai Valley Inn and El Encanto (last year’s winner in the Sweet category). He even ran the kitchen for a while at the Immigrant Son Caffe in Ventura. He took this expertise with him to Parque, and made sure to plan his winning dish accordingly. Concerned with both volume and freshness, his choice of a tender slow-cooked meat made the 1,000+ servings he’d needed to fulfill much more manageable, with the added bonus of being a personal favorite.