Two of Miami's hottest chefs will compete in a head-to-head cooking competition at Heart of a Chef this Sunday, April 29 at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, from 4 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults. Two children are admitted free with each paid adult ticket.
The family-friendly food festival, which benefits the Florida Heart Research institute differs from many food-centric festivals in one important way - guests will partake in heart-healthy food and wine, designed to bring home the event's message of preventing childhood obesity, which has been known to lead to heart disease.
In addition to interactive demonstrations for both kids and adults, wine and food tastings, the highlight of the event is the Heart of a Chef culinary battle, which features local chefs Joshua Wahler, executive chef at CRAVE Restaurant and Hell's Kitchen alumnus, and Giorgio Rapicavoli, owner/executive chef of Eating House and Chopped winner.
The chefs will be challenged to created a delicious, heart-healthy meal
using a basket of mystery ingredients. Short Order asked both chefs
about the competition and what their strategies were for winning.
Giorgio
Rapicavoli said he's confident his Chopped win will help him win the
Heart of a Chef contest. "During Chopped, we were given a basket of
mystery items to work with," he told Short Order.
When asked about any
strategies, he said that even though he won't know what he's preparing
until the competition. "I have recipes in my head that I can always
change to fit the ingredients."
In the end, Rapicavoli said the main
purpose of the afternoon is the message, "I'm just glad to be asked to
be a part of such an amazing organization, and to promote the Florida
Heart Research Institute."
Chef Joshua Wahler's game plan is to
"focus on fresh and light dishes I've cooked in the past
past and try to 'wow' the judges with amazing, bold flavors,"
regardless of what's in his mystery basket.
The executive chef at CRAVE
is looking forward to "educating people on making heart healthy
choices, while having a great time doing it."
When asked if he's got any
secret strategies, Wahler said, "if I had any secrets and shared them
then they wouldn't be secrets... but I always have tricks up my
sleeve."
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