Discounted Tix for 6th Annual CT Chef’s Challenge Still Available

From now until September 1, you can get your Connecticut Chef’s Challenge tix at a discounted rate. Yup, for just $60 you can pick up a ticket that would normally cost $75. Entry gets you in on the action as you watch some of CT’s best chefs compete, passed apps, dessert, and free wine and beer. Or, you could buy a VIP ticket  ($100) that gets you into the Chef’s Reception and gets you a chance at winning a seat at the Chef’s Table Tasting Seat. There are also other seating options available that get you a guaranteed seat at the Chef’s Tasting Table.

MacChilifest: A Spicy, Cheesy, Beefy Event for Super Bowl Sunday

There will be so many super bowls of awesomeness at MacChilifest 2015!

MacChilifest is taking over the Bedford Middle School in Westport on Super Bowl Sunday, 2/7, from 11-3 . . . and you’re invited. Well, we’re going to use a stronger word than that. We’re demanding you come on down to check out this contest because it’s going to be a great way to kick off the start of that classic, much-anticipated game. Or, if you don’t care about football, it’s an excuse to just stuff your face with some killer chili and mac & cheese.

In fact, we’re talking about 20 different tastings of chili and mac & cheese from some of the area’s most well-known restaurants and even local fire departments. It’s good they’ll be there, cuz things are bound to get hot as the competition heats things up! Categories this year include Classic Beef, Creative Chili, and Mac & Cheese . . . and you get to pick the winners by eating and voting.

Last year the winners were Geronimo, Southport Brewing Company, and the Westport Fire Department, but will they be able to stay on the top with so many other restaurants thirsty to take their place? Places like the Blind Rhino, Bobby Q’s, Chef’s Table, Chilibomb, Da Pietro’s, DrewbaQ (food truck), Little Pub, Liquid Lunch, Mac’it, Old Post Tavern, Sam’s American Bistro, Simply Delicious, Tru North Tavern & Table, Wire Mill Saloon & BBQ, and the Weston Fire Department want first place BAD!

Tickets are already on sale and are priced at $15 per person or $5 for kids ages 6-12. 

About Chilifest

Chilifest benefits the Turtle Fund which seeks to promote the education of young people in art, music, theater, skilled craft and other creative pursuits in order to create a rich cultural heritage for tomorrow.

Chilifest is proudly sponsored by Stop & Shop, Volvo of Westport, The Greens of Canondale, Cabot Cheese, Chaboso Bakery, Tabasco and WEBE 108.  For more information about Chilifest please visit www.MacChilifest.org or email Jim Keenan at MacChilifest@gmail.com

 

 

Home Cooks: Open Call for Food Network’s All-Star Academy

Food Network is looking for the best home cooks in the nation to be on All-Star Academy Season 2 and their next stop is NYC. On 9/26 from 10:30-2:30 they’ll be at Rustico Cooking (40 West 39th St. 2nd Floor) and will be searching for the best. To get your shot at not only being mentored by one of the amazing celebrity chefs on The Food Network but to also take home $50,000, make sure to stop by. Here’s what you need to do:

RSVP

Bring a savory dish that highlights your cooking abilities.

A completed casting application

A photo of your dish

A photo of yourself

All information and applications can be found right here.

Good luck all you home cooks out there . . . and if you can’t attend, you can still apply by clicking here. 

Win Two Tix to Friday’s Connecticut Chefs Challenge 2015!

Update: Thanks to all that entered, what an awesome contest! Sorry to say, there can be only one winner, but we’re happy to announce that Michele, you’re the winner. We’ll be contacting you via e-mail soon. Tix are still on sale if you didn’t get to win. :)

We’ve been counting down the days, hours, and minutes until 7 pm this Friday, 9/18 at the Lincoln Culinary Institute in Shelton. That’s when 8 super-talented chefs from Connecticut will do battle to see who takes home the culinary belt and gets to brag about the win all year long. But, it’s not just about watching these incredibly talented chefs do battle and rib each other. Nope. You can check out the buffet, taste some apps, drink some free wine and beer (Host Chef Plum’s arranged for some great beer, btw), and dessert! Also, there will be some judges that we love there, too: Chef Derrick Prince of Stanton Social, Judy and Joy, and Ken Tuccio. 

Stamford Chili Cookoff 2015 Looking for Entrants; Save the Date!

The Stamford Chili Cookoff is looking for cooks and chefs who have mastered the art of chili. If you think you’ve got that killer recipe that will help you take home first prize, then contact Joe Gonzalez and let him know you’re in it to win it!

For the rest of you who just want to taste their chili and vote on your favorite, let this be a save the date! The event goes down on November 1 from 11-3 at the beautiful Stamford Museum and Nature Center. More details on the way . . . but we can say that this is a great event that not only warms your body, but also your heart as you’re helping to raise money for The Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County.

2015 CT Chefs Challenge Competitors and Judges Announced

We already told you to save the date, so it’s about that time to get your tickets for the 2015 CT Chefs Challenge! The competition goes down on Friday, September 18, starting at 7 pm at the Lincoln Culinary Institute in Shelton. This year you have two options for tix, too: GA for $50 which includes free beer/wine, apps, food buffet, coffee, and dessert or the Tasting Ticket for $100 which also includes a reserved seat at a shared table, and a tasting dish from the chefs for the table to share. Also included is the cocktail hour where you’ll have the chance to drink, try some apps, meet some new friends, and learn about The Optimus Foundation who are the benefactors of this incredible event.

Now, here are some of the great things to look forward to:

Bacon’s the secret ingredient in the next Westport Farmers’ Market cooking contest

Think you’ve got a killer bacon recipe . . . or want to create one? Then you’re definitely going to want to compete at the Westport Farmers’ Market competition on 1/24! If you want to compete, here’s whatcha need to do:

• E-mail Lori Cochran by 1/20 to secure your spot.
• Pick up bacon from one of the vendors at Westport Farmers Market
• E-mail Lori again with the recipe including which farm your got your bacon from by 1/24
• Create three servings of your dish and bring them to WFM by 10:30 on Saturday, 1/24
• Get ready for judging at 11! You’ve got tough critics as the judges this time are co-owner of The Spread Chris Hickey and Chef Carlos Baez, also from The Spread. 

The winner will snag a cornucopia of goodies stuffed into a market bag and will also win a WFM tee. In addition, that killer recipe will be shared with over 3,000 subscribers via the WFM newsletter!

Westport Farmers Market is located (for winter) at 7 Sylvan Lane in (you guessed it) Westport!

Cabbage Cooking Contest at Westport Farmers’ Market 1/18

Cabbage was cool to cook with way before anybody ever heard of kale.  Yeah, we said it.  What you gonna do, huh?  But, the problem with cabbage is that it can be soggy or be off-putting if it’s not done right.  

 

Well, we’ll let Chef Wirt Cook from Redding Roadhouse and butcher-extraordinaire from Saugatuck Craft Butchery be the judges of that.  They’ll be the local celebrity judges at a cabbage cooking competition at the Westport Farmers’ Market on 1/18 starting at 11 am.  While we might not want to be around either Wirt or Ryan a few hours after the sampling (hopefully they take some Beano), you better stick around until noon when they’ll pick the winner.  That lucky duck will win a full cleanse system from The Stand Juice Company and the bragging rights as winner of the Cabbage Kibosh.  

Discounted Chowdafest 2014 Tix on Sale at Stop & Shop

The Sixth Annual Chowdafest that goes down on SOUPer Bowl Sunday is just around the corner.  So, whether you just love soup, you’re upset that your team never made it past the regular season, or you just want to pre-game at Webster Bank Arena, ChowdaFest will be the place to be from 11 to 3 on 2/2.  There will be 28 restaurants competing to win your votes for best chowda in three different categories, yes…but there will be so much more that we can’t wait to share with you as one of the sponsors for this year’s event that helps to benefit The Connecticut Food Bank.

Got Chili? Saugatuck Craft Butchery Announces Connecticut Chili Classic

Chili Today, Hot Tamale

The Connecticut Chili Cup.

Is it a cup, literary made of chili?

Is it a cup that holds chili peppers?

Is it a cup given in honor of The Red Hot Chili Peppers?

Or is it the trophy for Saugatuck Craft Butchery’s inaugural chili cooking contest, The Connecticut Chili Classic, to see who can make the best chili?

Okay, okay, we know you just want the details, so out with them:

Starting today through the weekend Saugatuck Craft Butchery is pre-selling competitor slots to their friends (like them on FB, dudes and dudettes). 

To enter, you’ll need to call up (203) 226-6328 to reserve one of the 25 spots.

The entry fee is $75 and that will get you, according to their FB post: