Chef Showdown

Event Description

Chef Showdown

Date: Friday, October 23, 2020

VIP #ChefShowdown brought to you by Talbott Vineyards and presented by Goya Foods, Tequila Herradura, Land Rover South Dade, Celebrity Cruises, Baptist Health South Florida, Halperns, and official bank partner, City National Bank.

#CHOOSEYOURCHAMP | Results certified by Marc E. O’Connor, CPA, PA

Time: 7:00PM – 11:00PM

Entrance: 12th & Ocean Drive (Lummus Park), Miami Beach, Florida
Inside Baptist Health VIP Hospitality Village & Goya Culinary Pavilion

Chef Showdown at South Beach Seafood Week assembles Miami’s top executive chefs for an evening of competitive cook-offs where YOU are the judge. In a perfect combination of competition level cuisine, tropically fresh cocktails, and a beach bash of entertainment, the #ChefShowdown , brought to you by Talbott Vineyards, tours guests through the best of Miami’s culinary scene. Featuring 16 of Miami’s most progressive and recognized Executive Chefs, this is a CAN’T miss experience for all. We had you at fresh cocktails, right?

Selected by Travel Channel as the Top Seafood Chef Competition in the country, the Chef Showdown, hosted inside the Baptist Health VIP Hospitality Village and Goya Culinary Pavilion, pairs chefs head-to-head in a total of eight different seafood battles with the ultimate high energy night of competition (and party). Chefs from each battle will take the stage throughout the night in the showcase kitchen, where famous Miami media personalities and Celebrity Chefs will judge the best in each showdown.

2020 Judges will be: Chef Andre Bienvenu of Joe’s Stone Crab, Chef Peter Vauthy of Red, the Steakhouse, Chef Fernando Desa of GOYA, Chef Janine Booth of Stiltsville Fish Bar, Chef Jose Mendin of Pubbelly, Nelson Lazo, CEO of Doctors Hospital, and Ben McClure of Talbott Vineyards.

The gist: Ticket holders will visit each restaurant’s sampling station around the hospitality village and sample the competing Chef’s dishes. Then, guests get to vote on their favorite dishes! The chefs take the main stage throughout the night and battle it out in person with a group of executive judges helping to weigh in. Points are accumulated from all the voting areas to ultimately decide the newest CHAMPIONS of the Chef Showdown at the South Beach Seafood Week!

2020 BATTLE SHOWDOWN CHEFS

Battle Fish: 2019 Champion Chef Julian Garriga of Seawell Fish N’ Oyster Bar

Julian Garriga is the executive chef of Seawell Fish N’ Oyster and Minnow Bar adjacent to Kimpton Angler’s Hotel Miami Beach. With over 10 years of experience in the culinary industry, Garriga’s career has spanned across Miami, Washington D.C., and New York City. He was the executive sous chef at Area 31, and then lead the culinary teams at other renowned restaurants in Miami including SRA. Martinez and Macchialina, to name a few before coming back to run Seawell Fish N’ Oyster Bar.

2020 Battle Fish Competitor: TBA

Battle Shrimp: 2019 Champion Chef Demetrios Pyliotis of Poseidon

Chef-owner Demetrios Pyliotis moved to South Florida to join his brother Vasilis at Zesto Pizza on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. The brothers grew up in Kalamata on the Peloponnese Peninsula near the village of Pylos where their grandfather is from (and where they got their surname). During military service in the Hellenic Army, Demetrios trained as a chef, cooking three meals a day for about 1,000 soldiers stationed around the Mediterranean. After moving here, he earned a culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu in Miramar before opening Poseidon in April 2013 at 11th Street and Washington Avenue in South Beach, naming it after the mythological god of the sea.

2020 Battle Shrimp Competitor: TBA

Battle Oyster: 2019 Champion Chef Chad Wyrosdick of Papa’s Raw Bar

2020 Battle Oyster Competitor: TBA

Battle Sushi: 2019 Champion Chef Rangel Suarez of Katsuya Brickell

2020 Battle Sushi Competitor: TBA

Battle Surf N’ Turf: 2019 Champion Chef Danny Ganem of LT Steak & Seafood

2020 Battle Surf N’ Turf Competitor: TBA

Battle Lobster: Chef Arturo Paz of Lobster Bar Sea Grille Miami Beach

Arturo Paz joined the Lobster Bar Sea Grille team as Executive Chef and brings a rich and diverse background and a passion for good food. For Paz, each dish is about creation and harmony, something he learned as an architect, and with each plate you see a glimpse into Paz’s broad life experiences. For Paz, cooking represents the ultimate art form and as he explains, “It’s the only form of art that you can taste, smell, see, and feel.”

2020 Battle Lobster Competitor: TBA

Battle Crab: 2019 Champion Chef Brian Nasajon of Beaker & Gray

2020 Battle Crab Competitor: TBA

Battle Taco: 2019 Champion Chef Bernie Matz of Bodega

2020 Battle Taco Competitor: TBA

The VIP #ChefShowdown delivers a unique culinary and entertainment experience in the most beautiful high energy atmosphere on the sands of South Beach Miami.

Be sure to stop by the Papa’s Raw Bar SEAFOOD WORLD BAR for your taste of some beef with your reef.

Get ready to enjoy the ultimate beach bash with sounds by YISSEL!

The event is from 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM (on the sand) and the entrance is on 12th and Ocean Drive in Lummus Park, Miami Beach.

Chef Showdown at South Beach Seafood Week Ticket Details:

• All-inclusive tasting of each Chef’s competition dishes available at each of the 16 restaurant battle stations
• Full bars featuring a variety of cocktails, beer, wine, and soft drinks
• Additional seafood bites from GOYA and Celebrity Cruises
• Access to the PAPA’s RAW BAR SEAFOOD WORLD BARopen all night for your enjoyment
• Samplings from Casa Herradura Experience
• Access to the Celebrity Cruise private entertainment experience
• Bubbles from the City National Bank Bubble Lounge featuring J Vineyards & Winery
• Baptist Health South Florida entertainment
• An all-night party in the Goya VIP Culinary Pavilion (where all Chefs battle on stage) featuring Miami’s hottest DJ, Sounds by YISSEL

Chef Showdown Weekend Pass Details:

SOBE SEAFOOD WEEKEND PASS $250
(value of $300) includes:

• ONE ticket to Friday, October 23, 2020: Chef Showdown ($150 value)
• ONE VIP Tickets for Saturday, October 24, 2020: SoBe Seafood Fest ($150 value)

WEEKEND PASS FOR TWO with a 2-NIGHT HOTEL STAY – $800
(value of $1,100) includes:

• TWO tickets to Friday, October 23, 2020: Chef Showdown ($300 value)
• TWO VIP Tickets for Saturday, October 24, 2020: SoBe Seafood Fest ($300 value)
• ONE Signature Standard Room at Shore Club South Beach, checking in Friday, October 23 – checking out Sunday, October 25.