Food-o-File

The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas is accepting entries for its third annual Pastry Scholarship Competition, to be held Satur­day-Sunday, May 22-23, on the campus of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts (3110 Esperanza Crossing #100, 837-2665). Students at culinary programs around the state are eligible to enter and must submit recipes in five categories: composed dessert, traditional Texas dessert, a standard technique dessert, a mignardise plate, and a bread. The recipes will be evaluated by a panel of culinary professionals, and three finalists will be chosen to prepare their recipes in competition. After a blind judging, the winner will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship and the two runners-up will each get $1,000. Applications must be submitted by May 14. For complete info and application materials, go to www.winefoodfoundation.org... Former Hous­ton restaurateur Martin Berson is bringing a new food concept to the Austin market with two Snap Kitchen outlets (4616 Triangle #200, 459-9000; 1014 W. Sixth, 479-5959, www.snapkitchen.com). The stores offer freshly prepared, nutritionally balanced foods, packed in single-serving portions. The dishes are developed by dietician Andrea Hinsdale and prepared by chef Ethan Holmes, with options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert, plus freshly tossed salads, fresh juices, and healthy elixirs. Through a consultation with the dietician, menu plans can be developed for customers dealing with weight loss, diabetes, celiac disease, food allergies, and specific athletic training... Over the next few weeks, be sure to check out the Texas Department of Agriculture's new Go Texan WineCasts – Web videos showcasing eight distinctive regional wine trails around the state, posted at www.gotexanwine.org and also at www.youtube.com/user/gotexanwine... Central Texas made a big splash in the national news again this past week, what with the Hotel Saint Cecilia (112 Academy, 852-2400, www.hotelsaintcecilia.com) getting a rave review in Sunday's New York Times and East Side King (1618 E. Sixth) food trailer receiving a shout-out during The Splendid Table on KUT. Then Monday evening at 8pm, there was the debut of TLC's new show Best Food Ever, which will feature six weekly showcases for such things as "Sensational Sandwiches," "Bodacious Bakeries," "Fab Food Carts," "Darn Good Diners," "Crazy for Cheese," and "Buzz­wor­thy BBQ." We've been advised that a Central Texas food business will be highlighted in every segment. Monday's show featured those distinctive wraps from the Mighty Cone (1600 S. Congress); next week will be the cocktail cupcakes from Georgetown's Galaxy Cup­cakes (107 E. Seventh, Georgetown, 512/868-0996). We're also aware that a film crew from Vancouver will be in town in May shooting stories about our fast-growing trailer cuisine scene for the Food Network... Check out the new Sunday specials at both Roaring Fork locations (701 Congress, 583-0000; 10850 Stonelake Blvd., 342-2700), where they're offering half-price on all bottles of wine, and a 16-ounce thick-cut rib eye with one side dish for only $26.