On a dark and stormy night perfect for comfort food, guests and invitees of the Third Annual NACE (National Association for Catering and Events) Golden Noodle throwdown at the new Houston Food Bank center welcomed more than a dozen restaurants and caterers with a variety of macaroni and cheese offerings. The competition included four categories: traditional, dessert, creative and novice. I was impressed not only by the talent of the chefs, but the level of thought behind each dish.

Marriott Houston North (with the ironic “Legume Slaughterhouse” pseudonym) had me at in-house pear-smoked pork belly cooked in duck fat. Complementing this was a trio of fontina, gouda and white cheddar cheeses, a sweet English pea reduction and crunchy chicharron resting on top. I found the chunks of hearty pork belly to be a great contrast in texture to the creamy cheese blend.

Competing in two categories — dessert and creative — was Behind the Bash catering. With a s’more-inspired offering as their dessert presentation and an orzo and cheese gumbo for creative (photo at left), BtB was the leader in the clubhouse early on for me.

Not to be outdone was a creative entry straddling the line between sweet and savory. Self proclaimed “mad scientist of macaroni” chef Brian Pashkoff of Crowne Plaza River Oaks was possibly inspired by Dr. Frankenstein when putting his mac and cheese together. A complex texture was achieved by combining gnocchi lightly sprinkled with cocoa powder, candied ginger, walnuts, dried cherries, maple bacon, mint basil and a mascarpone-like cheese. I don’t know what wizardry chef Pashkoff used to pull this off, but I would gladly give up my Candy Crush addiction for more. “It’s like a symphony in your mouth,” quipped Pashkoff.

Melange Catering created a shell pasta filled with “tiramisu” (chocolate cappuccino flavors and infused mascarpone cheese) as their dessert entry (photo at right). A crunchy graham cracker  “dust” balanced the sweetness with a hint of salt.

In the end, the judges and I didn’t see eye to eye, as only one of my favorites (Behind the Bash) pulled off a victory. But it was a fun evening. And with a growing list of chefs and restaurateurs, the competition will become even more al dente next year.

For more information on the new Houston Food Bank visit houstonfoodbank.org

Houston Golden Noodle: goldennoodlehou.com  @GoldenNoodleHou