Epicurean Hotel Hosts Second Annual “Epic Chef Showdown” to Benefit Feeding Tampa Bay

The Epicurean Hotel is hosting the second Epic Chef Showdown to benefit Feeding Tampa Bay, the area’s largest food rescue and distribution organization. The Epic Chef Showdown is a seven-week competition pitting eight of the Tampa Bay area’s top restaurants against each other in a friendly cooking competition judged by a panel of local celebrities.

Each week, beginning Monday, July 18, two competing chefs will receive a mystery box of ingredients not commonly prepared together, and will be challenged to create two unique dishes under the pressure of the clock. When time is up, each dish will be judged and one restaurant will be eliminated, with the winner moving on to the next round. Other competition dates are July 25 and August 1 and 8 (first round), August 15 and 22 (semi-finals) and August 29 (finale). All Epic Chef Showdown events will be held in the Epicurean Theatre rom 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

Participating local restaurants include Ava, Birch & Vine, Cena, Mise en Place, Parkshore Grill, Pearl in the Grove, Restaurant BT and Rooster & The Till. Each week, the event will be hosted by Emily Ellyn, the “Retro Rad Chef” from Food Network. Judges will rotate each week and include local personalities ranging from Olympic gold medalist Brooke Bennett to media personalities such as Stacie Schiable and Ian Beckles.

“We are thrilled to bring this innovative event back to the Epicurean for the second year,” said Tom Haines, general manager of the Epicurean Hotel. “We are proud to continue our support of Feeding Tampa Bay and to bring awareness to the hunger issues in our community.”

“We’re looking forward to another successful year of Epic Chef Showdown. The Epicurean Hotel has been a great partner to Feeding Tampa Bay and has opened the door for us to discuss the issue of hunger in a new and unique way,” said Thomas Mantz, executive director of Feeding Tampa Bay. “This partnership, in conjunction with the culinary gifts of our talented chefs, allows us to feed knowledge, feed the health of our neighbors and feed the future of our community.”

Epic Chef Showdown events will take place at the Epicurean Hotel’s Epicurean Theatre from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. A limited number of tickets to the public are available for $90 (finale is $120), which includes a coursed meal with wine pairings, inspired by the participating restaurants and Élevage. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.EpicChefTampaBay.com.

Epic Chef Showdown sponsors include Florida Blue, Harvard Jolly Architecture, Coca Cola, Kobrand Wine & Spirits, Republic National Distributing Company and Gray Robinson.

For more information on Feeding Tampa Bay, visit www.FeedingTampaBay.org. For more information on The Epicurean Hotel, visit www.EpicureanHotel.com.