Epicurean To Host 7th Annual Epic Chef To Benefit Feeding Tampa Bay

TAMPA, FL — Tampa Bay's top chefs will be challenged to whip up a culinary masterpiece from a set list of ingredients during the seventh annual Epic Chef event to benefit Feeding Tampa Bay.

The event will take place July 18, 25 and Aug. 1 in the Epicurean Kitchen at the Epicurean Hotel, 1207 S. Howard Ave., Tampa.

Foodies are invited to the hotel's test kitchen on three consecutive Mondays to watch as chefs receive a mystery box of ingredients that are not commonly prepared together, and are challenged to create a unique, tasty meal in front of a live audience as well as live on YouTube.

All the ingredients will be chosen by a child in the Feeding Tampa Bay Summer Food Service partner, Boys & Girls Club, along with ingredients supplied by the Epicurean team.

Each dish will be judged on flavor, creativity and, for the first time, the public will vote on presentation.

Competitors on July 18 will be Chef Steven Franco of Cena at Grand Central at Kennedy in Tampa vs. Chef Steven Capone of the HEW Parlor & Chophouse at the Fenway Hotel in Dunedin.

Contenders on July 25 are Chef Suzanne Crouch of the Rooster & the Till in Seminole Heights vs. Chef Caleb Edwards of The Mill in South Tampa.

And Aug. 1 contestants are Chef Jedd Yudelson of Mise en Place vs. Chef Luis Quezada of Parkshore Grill in St. Petersburg.

The shows will be aired live starting at 6:45 p.m.

While tickets for the live viewing are already sold out, foodies are invited to the Epicurean lobby bar and restaurant for a chance to mingle with the event's restaurant partners, indulge in short rib appetizers and a selection of beers, and watch the show livestreamed. All proceeds the live shows as well as the Monday mingles will benefit the nonprofit Feeding Tampa Bay.

Click here for more information.

Those at home can catch the show live on Feeding Tampa Bay’s YouTube Channel with the opportunity to vote on their favorite chef’s presentation.

Currently, one in six adults are facing food insecurity, and one in four children go to bed hungry.

The Epic Chef is intended to raise awareness of the need for food as well as raise money for Tampa Bay's largest nonprofit providing food for those in need.

Feeding Tampa Bay provides food assistance in 10 counties with its main warehouse and distribution center in Tampa and specialized hunger-relief solution hubs in Pinellas, Polk, Manatee and Pasco counties.

Last year, Feeding Tampa Bay served more than 95 million meals.

Feeding America just released its annual Charitable Food Assistance estimate, reporting that 53 million Americans depended on food charities last year, 33 percent more people than before the coronavirus pandemic.