Mac and cheese smack-down at The Green Room

WINSTED — It was a night of pasta perfection and cheesy cheer at The Green Room on Saturday, Jan. 28.The restaurant held a macaroni and cheese cook off in which 10 contestants, each with their own recipe, competed against each other.As part of the rules, restaurant owner Sharry Revillini stipulated that all dishes be made from vegetarian cheeses.Unlike most types of cheeses, vegetarian cheese is not made with rennet, which is derived from the stomach tissue of a slaughtered calf.Rennet is used for the production of most cheeses on the market.The contest included macaroni and cheese with corn, macaroni and cheese with a southwestern spice flair, macaroni and cheese with pizza sauce, and ... just plain macaroni and cheese.Theresa Cannavo competed against two of her daughters, Cecelia and Sophia.Before the start of the competition, Theresa Cannavo bragged that her recipe was the best out of all entrants.“My recipe for macaroni and cheese will not burn your lips,” she said. “Too often, macaroni and cheese recipes burn your lips.”Sophia Cannavo said a good macaroni and cheese recipe involves cheese thickness and seasonings.“It has to be the perfect thickness,” she said. “If it becomes too thick, you have to know how to compensate with water and milk broth.”Entrant Joe Misuraca, who also works at The Green Room, said the basis of a good macaroni and cheese recipe comes down to the cheese.“You don’t need cheesiness, you just need the cheese,” Misuraca said. “Nothing but the cheese.”Contestant Claudia Duhamel made a southwestern style macaroni and cheese with a variety of spices.“Am I worried about the competition? No,” Duhamel said. “I’m pretty sure there was no sabotaging going on by the cooks.”In the end, after a complex debate on how to determine the winner, it was decided that three employees of The Green Room won the cook off.Owner Revillini came in third, while Misuraca came in second for his recipe.The winner of the cookoff was determined to be Green Room employee Matt Smith.When asked what he would be doing next after winning the crown for best macaroni and cheese recipe, Smith said, “Next, I will be doing the dishes.”