One on-course food battle and four must-try food items at Dean & DeLuca

Wednesday’s celebrity pro-am at the 2017 Dean & DeLuca Invitational was a rematch for the ages for two giants in the food world.

In 2006, Fort Worth chef Tim Love famously defeated Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto in the “chile pepper battle” on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America.

Love said the pair have been “best friends ever since,” after Morimoto got his shot at retribution at Colonial Country Club.

Morimoto and Love were part of an all-foodie foursome also featuring Los Angeles chef Ben Ford, the son of actor Harrison Ford, who played alongside professional golfer Si Woo Kim.

“He’s an amazing guy and an amazing golfer,” Love said. “I’ve played with him a bunch. I’ve played with him at Pebble Beach and Shadow Creek, too. He’s a really good golfer.”

Love hosted Morimoto at the Woodshed Smokehouse after their round. Morimoto, who flew into town Tuesday night, had not had a meal out yet in Fort Worth, but said he was eager to get his fill of barbecue.

“I’m excited to try the different barbecue and get a look at the culture,” Morimoto said. “It’s interesting here.”

It’s unclear who had the better round Wednesday, as each chef-turned-golfer carded a birdie apiece. Love may have spent more time in the water, though. He admitted he dribbled two into the drink: on No. 10, the group’s starting hole, and No. 9, the group’s finishing hole.

Texas Cheesecake

Fort Worth Police Lieutenant Robin Krouse is one of three local food vendors to have his products featured at the Dean & DeLuca pop-up store on the tournament drag called Prince Street. The sturdily built career cop has been crafting fine cheesecakes for anyone interested since 1997.

Krouse cooked for the Fort Worth Police Officers Association before selling his cheesecakes specifically at local restaurants like Mercury Chop House, Cowtown Diner and Enchiladas Olé, under his business then known as An Officer and a Gentleman, but now known as Texas Cheesecake Company.

At Dean & DeLuca, where Krouse is also working security, Texas Cheesecake Company is offering three varieties of (huge) single-serving cheesecakes in the cool counter at the Prince Street pop-up store: turtle toffee, plain and key lime. The turtle toffee, a plain cheesecake topped with melted chocolate and caramel, with a butter toffee topping, is the crowd favorite so far.

“The fact that [Dean & DeLuca] came into Fort Worth and wanted to feature local businesses, you can’t beat that,” said Krouse, who partners with Mercury Chop House owner Zack Moutaouakil. “We’re hoping that this gives us the little boost we needed to get back into the market.”

Get to the cheesecake before it’s gone, as Krouse only stocked the store with 48 cakes in each flavor.

Crowd screams for ice cream

Temperatures could reach the mid-90s during the weekend in Fort Worth, and Dean & DeLuca came prepared this year. The pop-up store is also featuring soft serve ice cream in luxurious flavor options like vanilla cardamom and coconut, alongside standby flavors like chocolate and strawberry. Toppings include chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate covered mint balls.

Dean & DeLuca’s onsite chef Derek Hunt said that based on early returns at the start of the week, they may have underestimated demand for ice cream on the golf course.

“We estimated about 4,000 portions and I think we’ve underestimated,” Hunt said. “But we have the ability to bring in more product through the weekend. I have a feeling there’s going to be a line out the door for the soft-serve this weekend.”

Pro tip: Try the cardamom vanilla topped with nitro-iced Avoca coffee, another of the three local businesses featured at the pop-up store.

Dallas Macaron

The macaron, experiencing its moment in the spotlight in Dallas, has made it to Fort Worth. Kate Weiser has brought boxes of five French macarons to the Dean & DeLuca pop-up store from her store in Trinity Groves, Kate Weiser Chocolate.

Pasta Salad

If all this is beginning to sould like a little too much dessert, try a Dean & DeLuca import from New York, a simple yet crowd-pleasing radiatore pasta salad made with pesto and chunks of fresh mozzarella. Served cold, it’s just refreshing enough to beat the heat, but just savory enough to classify as “real food,” rather than “junk food.”

This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 8:09 PM with the headline "One on-course food battle and four must-try food items at Dean & DeLuca."