The chefs are off to the races when the summer-long “Chef vs. Chef” competition, hosted and sponsored by Max’s Harvest, comes to a head on Wednesday, June 17 at 9:30 p.m., beginning 15 straight weeks of high-stakes and high-heat cooking competition.
“This should be one of the most exciting food events of the year,” said Dennis Max, co-owner of Max’s Harvest. “South Florida is home to some of the nation’s best chefs and we are delighted to host this competition, all while supporting such a worthy local charity.”
Modeled after the popular television show Knife Fight, the weekly face-off will give chefs, 16 in all, three secret ingredients and an hour to craft two to three dishes. Qualified members of the culinary media and food community will then judge the dishes, awarding weekly prizes, and a grand prize to the competition winner. Winning chefs from the first bracket (weeks one through eight, June 17-August 5) will move onto a four-week quarterfinal phase (August 12-September 2), reducing the crowd to a final four chefs competing in the semifinals (September 9 and 16), with the winning chef being crowned following one final cook-off on September 23.
Week one will feature chefs Adam Brown from The Cooper and Ben Burger from Neiman Marcus, with Dennis Max of the Max Group, Bill Hansen of Bill Hansen Catering, and Jan Norris of Florida Food and Farm judging their entrees.
Guests can cheer on their favorite chefs each week by paying a $10 donation that includes one complimentary beer, wine or cocktail from Max’s Harvest. Proceeds from the competition will benefit the Naoma Donnelley Haggin Boys and Girls Club in Delray Beach. For more information, visit maxsharvest.com.
The full bracket for the Chef vs. Chef competition is as follows:
- Week 1 | June 17: Adam Brown, The Cooper vs. Ben Burger, Neiman Marcus
- Week 2 | June 24: James Strine, Café Boulud vs. Paul Niedermann, Hudson
- Week 3 | July 1: Victor Meneses, El Camino vs. Victor Franco, Oceans 234
- Week 4 | July 8: Danielle Herring, Rebel House vs. Che Frey, Henry’s
- Week 5 | July 15: John Thomas, Tryst vs. Aaron Goldberg, Bogart’s
- Week 6 | July 22: Eric Grutka, Ian’s Tropical Grill vs. Jarod Higgins, Cut 432
- Week 7 | July 29: Kelley Randall, The Office vs. Bruce Feingold, Dada’s
- Week 8 | August 5: Chris Miracolo, S3 vs. Blake Malatesta, 50 Ocean
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