Five chefs face off in FiveStar Food Fight

Local foodies, you don’t want to miss this Sunday’s Chattanooga Market in First Tennessee Pavilion.

Five chefs will compete in a cook- off under the watchful eyes of marketgoers as the FiveStar Food Fight is presented by Springer Mountain Farms. It’s a battle of wits, creativity and culinary skill as the chefs have to come up with a delicious dish within an allotted time period that wins over the panel of judges.

The winner will receive a golden ticket into the 2018 World Food Championships, where grand champions of previous events convene to cook for a chance to win the ultimate food crown and a share of hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money.

Chefs are set to arrive just before the market opens to set up their cooking stations. Chefs will be given approximately 2 pounds of fresh Springer Mountain Farms chicken — but the cuts are a com- plete surprise.

Cooking starts at 12:30 p.m., and marketgoers can watch the chefs create their dishes from start to presentation as they cook at their FiveStar ranges. Ooltewah’s Steve Ray will give the playby- play descriptions as the chefs work. Chefs will begin presenting their dishes to the panel at 1:30 p.m.

This year’s competitors: Kelley Koppinger, Marriott’s Table South Kitchen + Bar; Tanner Marino, The Chattanoogan’s Broad Street Grille; Burt Brown, Flying Squirrel; Hardin Cowen, Dwell Hotel’s Solarium; and Reed Trimble, St. John’s Restaurant.

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY DOUG STRICKLAND Tanner Marino, Broad Street Grille’s executive chef at The Chattanoogan, is one of five chefs competing for a golden ticket to The World Food Championships on Sunday at Chattanooga Market.