On Tuesday, April 23, at 7 p.m., some of Philadelphia’s most talented young chefs will compete in Brewery Ommegang’s second-annual Philly Hop Chef for a chance to represent the city in a cook-off at the brewery’s annual Belgium Comes to Cooperstown event. Six chefs will each create one dish showcasing their imaginative beer and food pairing skills. The dishes, all paired with Ommegang beers, will be served to a panel of judges and to all attendees; each chef will be given 15 minutes to describe and defend his dish to the judges.
The outstanding line-up of competing chefs includes Yun Fuentes of JG Domestic, Lucio Palazzo of La Calaca Feliz, Nick Macri of Southwark, Pat Szoke of The Industry, Eli Kulp of Fork, and Mike Deganis of Alla Spina.
“Beer and food belong together—whether as a thoughtful beverage pairing or as an ingredient—and this competition brings some of Philly’s best and brightest young chefs into the kitchen with our beers,” says Megan Maguire, Ommegang’s Market Manager. “Last year’s dishes were inspired, and the playful rivalries that developed between the chefs drove each of them to work harder and to create even more exciting and interesting dishes and pairings.”
“Our great beer deserves great food, and Hop Chef programs further the very Belgian idea of food and beer pairing—that there is a beer for every dish. Starting this year’s competition off in Philadelphia is fitting, as Philly is one of the centers of beer culture in the U.S. and it also has a booming restaurant scene with high quality food, both local and ethnic,” said Phil Leinhart, Ommegang’s brewmaster.
The Hop Chef Competition is part of the Ommegang program known as Great Beer Deserves Great Food®, a national initiative dedicated to the idea that fine beer deserves its rightful place at the table with fine foods. The Philadelphia event is the first in a series of chef cook-offs across the country, including other semi-final competitions in Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; and Albany, NY, culminating in a Grand Hop Chef cook-off at Ommegang’s Belgium Comes to Cooperstown festival August 2–4 at the brewery. In 2012, Philadelphia’s own George Sabatino won the national Hop Chef title in Cooperstown. He serves as the local Hop Chef Culinary Ambassador for this year’s competition.
Co-sponsored by the prestigious food magazine Saveur, Philly Hop Chef will be held at Union Transfer; tickets, which can be purchased here, are $53.50 per person, with a portion of proceeds going to support the Mural Arts Program and Groundswell.
In the weeks leading up to Hop Chef, fans and food and beer lovers can follow the chefs on Twitter (hashtag #HopChef) as they taste Ommegang beers and create their competition dishes. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the link. You can also follow Ommegang on Twitter @BreweryOmmegang and @OmmegangPhilly.
Union Transfer is located at 1026 Spring Garden Street, in Philadelphia; phone: (215) 232-2100.
