COOKING COMPETITION
CLOCK TOWER STAGE
Saturday, June 11
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Sponsored By
Amateur Chefs that cook as a hobby with a passion for food and cooking and culinary art, will compete to impress festival judges with the best dishes they can come up with during a one-hour fun cooking competition.
The 3 contestants will receive a mystery “BAG” with quality ingredients donated by Whole Foods Market and have 35 minutes to prepare a lunch entrée before serving to judges.
Judging criteria will be based on appearance, taste, smell, texture.
Contestants will receive a gift card donated by Whole Foods Market (1st place $500, 2nd place $250, 3rd place $125)
COMPETITION JUDGES
EMCEE AND COMPETITION JUDGE
Geoff Gardner Principal Culinary Program Manager | Whole Foods Market
Prior to joining Whole Foods Market in 2012, Geoff spent 23 years as a successful Boston chef and restaurateur. After taking on a variety of roles in our Prepared Foods program, he now leads the charge on all things Culinary as Principal Culinary Program Manager for Whole Foods Market.
An innovative and passionate foodie, Geoff is responsible for creating and implementing new partnerships, programs and venues across all Whole Foods Market stores.
Rand Cooper Food Writer
A longtime Contributing Editor at Bon Appétit and a former restaurant critic for The New York Times, Rand is also the author of two works of fiction and “Listening to Restaurants,” which explores the role restaurants have played in his life over the decades. He lives with his family in Hartford, Connecticut.
Kristen Fritz Eat IN Connecticut Co-Founder
Eat IN Connecticut was created in 2015 to bring the foodie community and restaurant industry together to dish about the great food and drink scene across the state.
CONTESTANTS
The 224 Ecospace and CEO The Conference of Churches
Host of Audacious with Chion Wolf from WNPR, Connecticut Public Radio
VP, Retail Internal Controls Analyst at Webster Bank