Cabarrus Health Alliance, City of Kannapolis, NC Research Campus and Cooking for a Healthy Life are partnering to host the 7th Cabarrus Chef Challenge. The Cabarrus Chef Challenge is a community culinary competition that bridges the gap between the personal kitchen or classroom, and the exciting restaurant industry. Youth teams from local high schools will again face-off to see who takes home bragging rights, but for the first time the challenge will also include adult teams from local organizations, churches and civic groups.
In previous challenges, teams competed to create the best tasting and healthiest versions of common American dishes like barbeque, tailgate treats, and holiday favorites. This year’s format will require teams to create a three-course menu using the provided ingredients. To replicate the excitement seen on televised cooking competitions like Chopped and Chopped Junior, participants will be presented with three (3) mystery ingredients the day of the competition to incorporate into their menu.
Contestant’s expertise will be put to the test as they try to impress a diverse and skilled panel of judges. The competition will be judged by a range of people with backgrounds including law enforcement, culinary institutions, food service industry and elected officials.
The winning youth team will run their own restaurant for one night at Restaurant Forty-Six, while the winning adult team’s recipe will be featured on NBC’s Charlotte Today. Past Judge and Director of Culinary Innovation at Cabarrus Health Alliance, Mark Allison, says this is much more than an ordinary cooking competition. “This is a chance for local teens to experience the real life excitement and adrenaline rush of running a restaurant for one night.” The new addition of the adult-based competition, raises the stakes even more by allowing them a chance to “turn their recipe into a professional dish that will be seen by thousands of viewers on Charlotte Today,” said Chef Mark.
Youth Preliminaries are Monday, May 13th, Adult Preliminaries are Saturday May 18th. Finales for both age groups will be held on Monday, May 20th at Restaurant Forty-Six.
To learn more about the culinary competition or to sign up as a team, visit www.cabarrushealth.org/chefchallenge.
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