PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Eight local chefs battled it out at the eighth annual Food Fight competition, Thursday, Feb. 24, raising money for Neighborhood House’s Meals on Wheels program.
The event was held in the Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino in East Peoria, where guests paid 100 dollars a ticket to enjoy appetizers from each chef, have the chance to purchase unique culinary experiences in an auction, and watch the event.
The “fight” challenged the eight chefs to create a gourmet meal from a bag of mystery ingredients. At the end of the 45-minute cook-off, each meal went off to the judge’s table.
Julie Bonar, the President and CEO of Neighborhood House, said the money will help them keep delivering around 1,000 meals to seniors in Peoria and Tazewell counties each day. She said the funds will also go towards their many other programs that fight food insecurities in the community.
“We also have a food pantry twice a month on the second and fourth Thursday, and we hand out food boxes to families that are in need,” Bonar said. “We also have a youth program, and in our youth program, all the students attending are given a hot meal.”
Bonar said they raised enough money through tickets to provide 300 food boxes for families. She said people were also able to pay online to vote for their favorite chef for the People’s Choice Award, raising an extra 6,000 dollars for the organization.
The live auction brought in another 17,000 dollars.
Food Fight 2022 Winners:
1st Place: Joe Gresham (The Cookery)
2nd Place: Golda Ewalt (OSF Saint Francis Medical Center)
3rd Place: Seth Colvin (Suite Fire Bar and Grille)
People’s Choice Award: Jeff Madden (Kemp 208 Main Street Grille)
Learn more about Neighborhood House here.
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