KC Flavor Champion: Kevin Ripley

The blind judging process of Kitchen Collaborative is essential in leveling the playing field for sponsors as they each evaluate dozens of menu concepts featuring their products. So, it’s an undeniable achievement to come away with consecutive wins in both 2025 and 2026, making it clear that culinary innovation is table stakes for Kevin Ripley, senior director, culinary, Maggiano’s Little Italy.

This year, Ripley is being recognized for his Honey Butter Crispy Fish Hot Pocket, featuring Mrs. Friday’s^® Honey Butter Biscuit Pollock from King & Prince Seafood. The dish is the union of varied culinary inspirations and intentions, along with flavors and textures that contrast and complement. Part hot pocket. Part beef Wellington. Part fish and chips. Craveable in every definition.

The dish is built around the King & Prince product: mild, tender, flaky pollock fillets that come coated in a sweet, golden, honey butter biscuit batter, ready for the oven, or in this case, the fryer. After frying, Ripley basted the pollock with Chili Crisp Hot Honey Sauce from Lee Kum Kee and then wrapped the fish in a lattice-style puff pastry for a trip into the oven. “Originally, I had the fish completely encased in the pastry like a more traditional beef Wellington. But as I worked through the different iterations, I came to a place where I pulled it back to a more ornate design that would showcase the fish.”

Once the pastry was baked off to a golden brown, Ripley served it with a yellow coconut curry, he says. “It’s the kind of curry you’d see served with a classic fish-and-chips dish.” The curry delivers a mild, aromatic, slightly sweet sauce—flavor elements that mirror those already in the pollock, says Ripley. “The completed dish should bring the diner to a familiar flavor profile, but in a completely unexpected play on both fish and chips and a hot pocket.”

The menu innovation thought process is about pairing flavor profiles in a way that takes the diner on a journey that will excite them. I’ll keep participating in Kitchen Collaborative because keeping those innovative skills sharp is the key to being a great chef.

—Kevin Ripley

“I thought the pollock product was so unique that it should be highlighted in a different way,” Ripley continues. “It had a wonderful crispy texture that still had the ‘flake’ of a biscuit and a hint of sweetness.” The flake of the pastry echoes the flake of the crust on the fish, he notes. The initial fry ensures the breading stays crisp, even after being placed on the curry sauce.

“The pollock and the hot honey chili crisp are both so versatile that I wanted to stretch them somewhere unexpected—one that was elevated and refined,” says Ripley. “From the initial conception, I didn’t know how this dish would work out in the end. But I will be serving it again.”

WHY THIS PLATE PREVAILED

“We loved being a part of Kitchen Collaborative 2026,” says Mike Tigani, director of marketing for King & Prince Seafood. The judging team included Tigani and his marketing colleagues plus the company’s corporate chef, who judged more than 70 individual menu concepts. “We debated the finer points of every submission.”

What made Ripley’s Honey Butter Crispy Fish Hot Pocket stand out from the competition was its creativity and presentation, says Tigani. The King & Prince team was impressed with the attention to detail Ripley applied in this menu concept. One feature they especially liked was the visibility of the fish product, the Mrs. Friday’s^® Honey Butter Biscuit Wild Alaska Pollock, through the lattice work of the puff pastry. And while Ripley plated his concept with a fine-dining menu in mind, featuring the yellow curry sauce, the sponsor saw its inherent versatility. “The design makes it a great portable snack for on-the-go eating,” says Tigani.

LESSONS LEARNED

Ripley is thrilled and honored to be a two-time Kitchen Collaborative winner, especially knowing that the project generates so many impressive menu concepts from his professional colleagues in the industry. “I did think the Honey Butter Crispy Fish Hot Pocket was one of my better submissions, so I’m glad that it stood out,” he reflects, noting that it’s gratifying when a supplier is excited by how their products are used.

For Kitchen Collaborative 2026, Ripley tweaked his overall approach to the challenge a bit: “In 2025, I leaned more into easily executable dishes that could translate to a reader who may not have advanced culinary skills, but would still showcase the products.” But this year, he continues, “I went with applications that could really elevate the sponsored ingredients and truly let them shine in the best possible way. That broadened the innovation scope for me.”

After last year’s Kitchen Collaborative trip to Dubai, Ripley’s eagerly anticipating this fall’s culinary expedition to Mendoza, Argentina, led by Flavor & The Menu and Summit F&B. “Cultural immersion is always top of mind for me when I travel. I’m always looking to learn from the people of a particular region, taking in their culture and seeing how they speak through their cuisine.”

But Ripley views the prize as a “wonderful bonus” to the rewards of the process itself. “If I am going to invest the time into something like Kitchen Collaborative, I really want to come out of it with an idea or a process that I can use in the future,” he concludes, noting that he intends to do just that with a number of his 2026 entries.

MORE INSPIRED TAKES

Seafood is at the heart of two additional concepts from Ripley. “I think seafood is such a blank canvas that can play with a large palette of flavor profiles,” he explains. “It’s often forgotten outside of ‘normal’ menu applications.”

Jumbo Lump Crab Salad ‘Donut’

Crab Rangoon, the enduring American-Chinese appetizer, is having a bit of a renaissance as chefs find inspiration in its foundational elements, using them in inventive new translations. Ripley adds his own contribution to the expanding canon with a unique Jumbo Lump Crab Salad “Donut.”

“I made a simple jumbo lump crab salad, adding celery seed and furikake to pump up the flavor,” says Ripley, describing the build. When he tasted the Strawberry Habanero Sauce from sponsor Good Foods, “I thought it could work nicely as the sweet-and-sour sauce you would normally get with a Rangoon, but it packs a little heat.”

Instead of deep-fried wonton wrappers, Ripley uses a fried donut—without the hole—as the carrier for the crab salad filling, which is piped into the center. Once filled, the donut is dipped into the Strawberry Habanero sauce, glazing the surface, which is then topped with sesame seeds and furikake seasoning.

“I wanted to mimic a traditional glazed donut, with a surprise of both the crab and some sweet heat,” says Ripley. “One bite delivers creamy, luxurious crab salad, with the soft chew of the donut and then a sweet note, followed by heat, from the strawberry sauce.” Ripley expects diners would enjoy this unconventional take and share the experience with pictures and comments on social media. “This was a fun one!”

Poached Halibut with Watermelon Yuzu

A big fan of watermelon, Ripley aimed to push the envelope and go with a high-end menu concept to showcase the fruit far beyond a salad or a cocktail. Here, the juice from fresh watermelon, courtesy of the National Watermelon Promotion Board, is used to make a yuzu, with the additions of lime, soy and mirin.

That yuzu, vibrant in hue and subtle in flavor, is a key element in the elegant presentation of the poached halibut. Ripley dusts the delicate white fish with nori powder and rolls it into a roulade before poaching. “This creates a beautiful mosaic design,” he explains. “Then, the watermelon yuzu is bright and clean to offset the rich fish.” He balled and pickled pieces of watermelon rind for additional texture and acid. Finishing touches include shaved cucumber, plus Fresno and jalapeño chiles.

“Watermelon can be so subtle, so I wanted to pair it with a nice, delicate fish and highlight the flavor nuances in the presentation,” says Ripley. The result is a refined concept that elevates and balances the flavors of each element. “This dish is going into my arsenal,” says Ripley.

There are more winners to meet from this year’s Kitchen Collaborative competition! Look for the profiles to continue in the weeks ahead.

Kitchen Collaborative Project Management: Summit F&B
Honey Butter Crispy Fish Hot Pocket photo: Photography: otysonphoto.com // Food Styling: Peg Blackley