Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament Starts Round Two

This week, the second round of competition in the Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament begins!

Round 2 will include Battles Street Food, Baltimore, and Fromage, as well as the Grand Championship Battle Royale. Remaining competitors include: Robert Simon, Admiral Fell Inn; Jonathan Hicks, Cosima; Fabio Mura, Grille 620 / River Hill Grill; Kitty Ashi, Monsoon Siam; Francois Giovanni Merle, Personal Chef and 2016 Mason Dixon Master Chef Champion; Lanydrek Christ Pandzou, SoBe Restaurant; Damon Hersh, The Inn at Brookville Farms; and Terence Tomlin, Upscale Dining Experience.

A full line-up of remaining matches is available online at www.MDmasterchef.com. Remaining Competition Dates: July 10, 11, 17, 18, 31, August 1, 13

All competitions are held at Points South Latin Kitchen in Fells Point - a fine restaurant to visit even if you're not going for the competition. Tickets for Round 2 matches are $45 ($65 for Semi-Finals and Championship matches) and available at http://www.masondixonmasterchef.com. Ticket price includes all taxes, a Boordy Vineyards wine tasting, passed hors d'oeuvres, dessert, and coffee, and of course the competition. All tickets are also "Judging Experience" tickets, allowing guests to taste each of the six courses produced by competing teams and participate in the voting.

In addition, the Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament donates 10% of the net proceeds of each ticket sold directly to their charity partner Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland (http://www.mealsonwheelsmd.org).

Meals on Wheels' mission is to enhance quality of life through the provision of nutritious meals, personal contact and related services to homebound individuals. Last year, over 740,000 home-delivered meals were prepared and delivered to more than 2,900 homebound clients through the coordinated efforts of Meals on Wheels staff and some 2,000 volunteers. Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland currently serves the following areas: Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties.



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Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament 2017

It's that time again - time for the Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament!

This season brings a new venue that we're pretty excited about - Points South Latin Kitchen in Fells Point. It's one of our favorite restaurants, so we know that not only will the competition be exciting but the food available for purchase during the matches will be top notch.

The chefs competing this time around come from all over the area:
James Patton, Admiral Fell Inn
Jacob Nelson, Black Eyed Suzie’s
Jonathan Hicks, Cosima
Joel Young, Hudson Coastal
Brigitte Bledsoe, Miss Shirley’s Café
Kitty Ashi, Monsoon Siam
Francois Giovanni Merle, Personal Chef, 2016 Mason Dixon Master Chef Champion
Niko Negas, Roasthouse Pub
Shamarie James, Roland Park Place
Darius Jones, Simply Exquisite
Lanydrek Christ Pandzou, SoBe Restaurant
Damon Hersh, The Inn at Brookville Farms
Terence Tomlin, Upscale Dining Experience
Greg Mason, White Oak Tavern

To see their initial match-ups,. check out www.MDMasterchef.com.

The competition starts this coming Monday June 5th and runs Mondays and Tuesdays for the next 8 weeks.

Tickets for most matches are $45 per person and include a wine tasting by Boordy Vineyards, passed hors d'oeuvres, the competition, dessert, and coffee. Plus, this year, ALL tickets are "Judging Experience" tickets, meaning that all guests can taste each dish produced by the chefs and be part of the voting to decide the winner.

A portion of the proceeds goes to the very worthy Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland.

So what are you waiting for? Get yourself some tickets and hope to see you there!



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Farm to Chef 2016

Farm to Chef is back for another exciting season! Once again, thirty chefs will collaborate with thirty farms to produce amazing dishes with fresh, locally produced, ingredients. This year's competition will be held at the B&O Railroad Museum on September 26th at 6:00pm. Tickets are available via Eventbrite. Early bird tickets (until September 5th) are $95, with the price going up to $110 thereafter. No tickets will be sold at the door, so get yours now!

Proceeds benefit Days of Taste, an interactive program that encourages elementary school students to appreciate the taste and benefits of fresh food by introducing them to the basic elements of taste and teaching them about food’s journey from farm to table.

Click here to see a list of this year's chefs (including Neill Howell of the Corner Pantry, Donna Crivello of Cosima and Donna's, and Sarah Simington of Blue Moon Cafe).

Examples of chef's dishes from 2015.

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Minxeats at the Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament

Mr Minx and I attended a Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament round one battle on Monday: Chef Fabio Mura of Grille 620 vs Chad Novak of Das Bier Haus.

The competition starts out with a half hour of cold prep. No cooking is allowed at this time, at least nothing that needs to be prepared with heat. So ice cream-making is fine, as is chopping, dicing, and breaking down meat products.

The theme of this battle was Game Day, and the teams were expected to produce three courses of food that would be appropriate for eating at a sporting event. There were theme ingredients provided by the competition's many sponsors, this time including Dr Pepper and bone-in pork butt, among other items.

After cold prep, the cooking began in earnest. Partway through, I was called over to assign mystery ingredients to the chefs. I chose to give Fabio ghost pepper smoked salt, while Chad got sriracha peas. Neither ingredient seemed to be an impediment.

During the competition, we purchased food and adult beverages from the Tournament's venue, the Inn at the Colonnade. Their restaurant, Alizée, offers a limited menu to Tournament attendees (the full menu is available inside the restaurant proper).

After an hour of cooktime, the chefs plated their food for presentation, then prepared plates for the three judges. (I was a judge once, back in 2010, which was fun, even though I don't think my opinion was taken at all seriously.) After careful consideration, for it was a close contest, Fabio Mura was declared the winner.

Chef Mura and his team from Grille 620 will face Brett Arnold from Smokin' Hot Bar & Grille on
Monday, July 18, 2016. Doors open at 5:30; the competition starts at 6pm and generally runs until 9:45pm. To purchase tickets for this or any other match, and for more details, go to the Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament web site.



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Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament!

Back for the 6th year, the Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament pairs local chefs against each other in a one-on-one, single elimination, bracket-style competition. The first battle begins on June 7th. All events will be held at the Inn at the Colonnade.

Minxeats is proud to be a media sponsor for the 5th year in a row. Hope to see you at a match!

This season's competing chefs are:

Christopher Vocci, Alexandra’s at Turf Valley
Kurt Peter, Azure
Chad Novak, Das Bier Haus
Fabio Mura, Grille 620
Brian Wells, Hard Yacht Cafe
Francois Giovanni Merle, KitchenCray
Kitty Ashi, Monsoon Siam
Bill Kelley, Renditions Golf
Niko Negas, Roasthouse Pub
Brett Arnold, Smokin’ Hot Bar & Grille
Terence Tomlin, SoBe Restaurant
Jeffrey Barillo, Social Restaurant & Oyster Bar
Brendan McKinney, Tark’s Grill
Darius Jones, That’s My Favorite Catering
Sean Praglowski, The Point in Fells
Greg Mason, The White Oak Tavern

Tournament Details
Tickets for all 15 dates of this summer-long single-elimination chef competition are available for purchase at: http://www.masondixonmasterchef.com. Tickets for most matches are $25 for general admission and $45 for judging experience (including all taxes). In addition, the Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament donates 10% of the net proceeds of each ticket sold directly to their charity partner Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland (http://www.mealsonwheelsmd.org).

Competition Dates 
June 7, 8, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28
July 11, 12, 18, 19
August 1, 2, 14

Event Timeline
5:30 p.m. – Happy Hour with Complementary Hors d’oeuvres and Wine Tasting by Boordy Vineyards, plus Drink Specials
6:30 p.m. – Cold Prep Begins for the Competition
7:00 p.m. – Chef Competition
8:00 p.m. – Judging Begins, Complementary Dessert and Coffee Served



Posted on Minxeats.com.