Nov 13, 2006

RigNet Finishes First in Fall Fin Feather Fur Food Festival

HOUSTON, TX - November 13, 2006 - What a feat! Team RigNet captured a first place award at the third annual Fin Feather Fur Food Festival (F5), recently held at the Humble Civic Arena and sponsored by the American Association of Drilling Engineers (AADE).

The fins, feathers and fur were flying as over 100 teams competed in the largest oilfield cook off in the country. RigNet competed in the "Fin" category, serving a Beer Battered Shrimp Brochette with Chipotle Honey Dipping Sauce. The recipe wasn't far-fetched. It impressed the judges, as Team RigNet walked away with the first place award in the "Fin" category.

"This was a great win," said Paul Poole, chef of the RigNet cooking team. "We worked hard the past several months testing and perfecting the recipe. It's amazing our recipe took first prize!"

The RigNet cooking team members consisted of Chef Paul Poole, and Sous Chefs Stuart Guillot and Lawrence Corey. The team worked for several days (and nights) preparing for the event. Over 400 fresh Gulf jumbo shrimp were brought over to Houston by members of RigNet's Lafayette's office.

Paul had seen the basic Shrimp Brochette recipe on the Internet a few years ago, and had an inspiration on how to improve it. "One of the keys to the recipe was using Shiner Beer to make the batter," Poole said. "Stuart had the idea of replacing the bacon wrap usually used in shrimp brochette recipes, with prosciutto. Also, what made our recipe appealing to the judges was the tremendous size of the jumbo Gulf shrimp we used. The guys in our Lafayette office really came through for us."

RigNet's booth was decorated as described as "Caribbean tacky," complete with blow-up plastic palm trees, multi-color Christmas lights, tikki torches and authentic plastic pink flamingos. Adding to the Caribbean-tacky ambiance, a special tropical "Pink Flamingo" drink was served by the RigNet team. The drink was made with a special blend of coconut rum, amaretto, pineapple and cranberry juice.

There are three divisions in the F5; Fin (fish), Feather (bird) and Fur (mammal). Each team competes in one of the divisions serving samples of food from hors d'oeuvres, soups, gumbos, entrees and desserts. Each team furnishes its own ingredients and prepares their dish from scratch. The teams are judged by a panel of local chefs. Trophies are given to the first, second and third place team in each of the three divisions. Additionally, teams are encouraged to decorate their booth and are judged for overall showmanship.

Proceeds of the F5 event fund the ADDE National Board of Directors student education initiatives and in particular, the ADDE Knowledge Box and Project Expanding Energy Education (PE3) programs.

Here is Paul Poole's winning recipe:

• 1 cup all purpose flower
• 1 ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 8 ounces of Shiner beer
• Flour for dusting
• 3-4 cups peanut oil for frying
• 3 fresh jalapenos
• 10 ounces of Monterey jack cheese
• ½ pound of prosciutto
• 1 ¼ pounds of large Gulf shrimp, peeled

Combine 1 cup of flour with cayenne pepper, salt, sugar and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add the Shiner beer all at once and whisk until smooth. Set aside at least ½ hour.

Slightly butter the shrimp. Cook the prosciutto until it is half-way done so that it is still flexible, but not undercooked. Cut the jalapenos and cheese into ¼ inch strips and place into the middle of the shrimp. Then take a piece of the prosciutto and wrap it around the stuffed shrimp and secure with a toothpick. Heat oil to deep-fry temperature (350 degrees) in a large saucepan. Test oil by sprinkling in a few drops of batter. If the drops of batter rise to the surface, the oil is ready. Toss the shrimp in the flour for dusting and toss to coat evenly, and then pat off excess. Drop a few shrimp at a time first into the batter, then into the spoon and drain on paper towels.

Serve immediately with the following dipping sauce.
Yield: 6 servings

• 2 chipolte chilies, stemmed, seeded
• 1 tomato, cored and cut in quarters
• ½ small onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

In a small saucepan, bring chilies, tomato, water, onion, garlic and salt to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Cook slowly, covered for 15 minutes, then puree in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and add honey and vinegar.

Serve at room temperature as a dipping sauce with shrimp.
Yield: 2 ½ cups

About RigNet Inc.

RigNet, Inc., is a leading global provider of managed communication services exclusively to the upstream oil and gas industry. The Company holds the prestigious Cisco Powered Network designation, meeting the most stringent standards for network reliability and performance, and was recently named one of America's fastest-growing private companies as ranked in Inc. Magazine's distinguished Inc. 500. RigNet has worldwide installations throughout 21 countries and 6 continents, spanning the global offshore drilling and production industry. Based in Houston, Texas, RigNet has offices in Louisiana, Brazil, Malaysia, Nigeria, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UAE and the UK. For more information, please visit http://www.rig.net/.