With over 300 folks in attendance at Diced in Dayton, the 3rd annual Chef Challenge to benefit Miami Valley Meals was a tough competition tonight. Eleven chefs were given a mystery box with 4 ingredients and each one created a taste for guests to enjoy.
Here are the mystery boxes the chef’s received:
| BOX A | Beef, Barley, Asparagus, Ginger Root — Sueno, Meridien, Simply Savory | ||||
| BOX B | Pork, Gnocchi, Eggplant, Swiss Chard — NCR, Jollity, De’Lish | ||||
| BOX C | Chicken Leg Quarters, Polenta, Turnips, Tomatillos — Grist, Lily’s | ||||
| BOX D | Hake Fish, Stuffing, Sugar Snap Peas, Grapefruit — Blind Dogs, Speakeasy, Cruisin Cuisine | ||||
The Judging panel consisted of Jared Beckman from La Soupe (a similar program Miami Valley Meals partners with in Cincy) Laura Cotton, Executive Chef for MV Meals, Charlynda Scales, CEO of Mutt’s Sauce and Co-Founder of the 6888 Kitchen Incubator at The Arcade, Chef Rick Schaefer, former owner of Brock Masterson’s Catering and Elizabeth Wiley, recently retired owner ofMeadowlark and Wheat Penny.
In a blind judges, food runners presented the dishes to the judges. After careful consideration, Chef Patrick Van Voorhis from Grist was selected as the winner.
All guests in attendance had a vote for the peoples choice winner and Chef Patrick emerged with the most votes, followed closely by Zachary Weiner from Jollity. The two of them faced off in a Chopped style cook off with a new mystery box which contained : Gourmet Wild Mushroom Blend, Scallops, and Dayton Microgreens, Edamame Green Goddess Sauce.
In a frenzied cooking session, with play by play commentary by event emcess Tej Joshi of Good Day Dayton, judges crowned Chef Patrick from Grist at the 2024 Diced Champion, pictured here with his wife and sous chef Casey.
The evening raised an estimated $37,000 which support hunger relief by providing people in need with access to a nutritious meal made with dignity. Currently Miami Valley Meals serves over 4,000 meals per week Miami Valley Meals recovers and transforms donated food into meals which are then distributed through a network of nonprofit partner organizations that feed the hungry.
