Tampa Bay Wine & Food Festival unveils “Chef Showdown” matchups
The 2025 Tampa Bay Wine & Food Festival happens next week and anticipation is building. The festival’s Chef Showdown, one of the key events and hosted by celebrity chef Robert Irvine, is an evening of competitive cooking and live demos.
Kicking off the festival weekend, the Chef Showdown showcases 16 of the area’s leading chefs, including all reigning champions, as they battle each other in a series of eight exciting showdowns. Two new battle categories, Battle Surf ‘n’ Turf and Battle Smokehouse, make their debut this year. These battles offer guests the ultimate judging experience to sample, savor, and vote for their favorite at each “battle pavilion.” Attendees receive poker chips to place votes after tasting the competing dishes. The winner of the night takes home a $2,000 prize courtesy of BMW.
Chefs from each battle take the Publix Culinary Showdown Kitchen stage for live demos of their dishes. The competition lineup for Chef Showdown includes all reigning champions from last year’s battles versus new competitors:
- Battle Fried Chicken Sponsored by Stella Artois: Chef Joe Dodd of King of the Coop (2x champion) vs Chef Aikeem Riley of Saucin Wings
- Battle Surf n Turf Sponsored by Meats by Linz and True World Foods: Chef Ted Dorsey of Sunshine City Tavern vs Chef Jason Ruhe of Brick & Mortar Kitchen
- Battle Truffle Sponsored by Tartufo Prestige: Chef Matthew Zappoli of Seminole Hard Rock Tampa (2x champion) vs Chef Mike Morales of Sunda New Asian
- Battle Burger Sponsored by Meats by Linz: Chef Jay Narvaez of Cru Cellars (2024 champion) vs Chef Erik Youngs of Voodoo Foundation
- Battle Taco Sponsored by Mr. Greens: Chef Christopher Yadid Garcia of Tacos Las Californias (2x champion) vs Chef Matthew Brennan of Lona Tampa at Marriott Water Street
- Battle Smokehouse Sponsored by Meats by Linz: Chef Bryan Jacobs of The Liberty Smokehouse vs Chef Cameron Capri of Q Southern BBQ
- Battle Seafood Sponsored by True World Foods: Chef Jon Walker of The Tides Seafood Market (2024 champion) vs Chef David Reyes of St. Petersburg Distillery (2x Battle Sushi champion)
- Battle Pasta: Chef Tony Macaroni of Devito’s Italian Specialties (2024 champion) vs Chef Anthony Santos, Celebrity Private Chef
Are you going to this year’s Tampa Bay Wine & Food Festival?
