It’s no secret that we, The Hungry Dudes, enjoy eating. We’re often found sampling delicious dishes from some of Michigan’s best restaurants and earlier this week we participated in “The Duel ” by judging the 41 dishes that were presenting by seven top local chefs. The 1st two rounds of the competition were held at Mirepoix, a cooking school above the Holiday Market in Royal Oak. Not only were we able to sample and judge each dish, we were able to talk with the chefs during the competition, asking questions to learn more about their strategy and plan for the dishes they were preparing.
Yesterday’s competitors were:
Chef Brandon @ Table 5 in Northville 
Chef Justin @ Toasted Oak Grill
Chef Jim @ The Townsend
Chef Zach @ Atlas Global Bistro
Chef Marc @ Wolfgang Puck MGM
Chef Paul @ Ronin
Chef Reva @ Joe’s Produce & Gourmet Market
Round 1 Each chef had 60 minutes to present two dishes (appetizer and entrée or dessert) featuring the secret ingredient: Corn!
There were several great dishes and many very good ones incorporating the secret ingredient. Below is one of the judges favorites from Chef Reva.
Many techniques were used with the secret ingredient. From cutting off the cobb to making a soup, corn was center stage.
In the end we had to cut one chef out of the competition. Sorry Chef Justin from Toasted Oak, you’ve been chopped. Not wanting to stop, Justin decided to practice by participating in the 2nd round and even though his food wasn’t judged, he did produce some quality dishes, like this bacon wrapped pork loin.
Round 2 In this round, the six remaining chefs had 90 minutes to produce three dishes (appetizer, entrée, and dessert) featuring the secret ingredient: Cherries!
Again, fantastic aromas filled kitchen stadium as the chefs worked hard to prepare dishes they’ve never made before.
After a fierce battle amongst all the remaining chefs, the judges convened for a bit discussing each dish and who should move on. In the end, the final four chefs selected to compete on the International Stage at Arts, Beats, and Eats are:
Chef Marc @ Wolfgang Puck
Chef Brandon @ Table 5
Chef Reva @ Joe’s Produce & Gourmet Market
Chef Zach @ Atlas Global Bistro
Also photographed: Holiday Market president Tom Violante Jr.
Want to catch the rest of the action?
Watch The Duel’s elimination challenge live at Arts, Beats & Eats on Friday, September 2 at 2:30 pm. The four chefs who survived earlier eliminations face off on the Mirepoix Cooking School International Stage. Then, on Sunday, September 4 at 2:30 pm, the final elimination cook off happens. Watch it live on the Mirepoix Cooking School International Stage and see which chef cooks up the prize-winning dish and walks away with the cash prize.
There’s also a Charity Preview Party For Ford Arts, Beats, and Eats Event: Arts du Jour this Thursday, August 25th from 6-10PM. Get your tickets, click here.
Check out Arts, Beats, and Eats on Facebook.
