StarChefs Gala Ticket Contest Winner

Photo courtesy of StarChefs

By Danya Henninger

We have a winner! On Monday announced our giveaway contest for a pair of tickets to Thursday’s fancy StarChefs Rising Stars gala at the Kimmel Center. To enter, you had to leave us a comment explaining which chef’s dish was the most representative of “Philly food,” and we had a ton of great submissions.

It was a very tough decision, but our winner is BrettV, who picked The Farm and Fisherman chef Josh Lawler’s bloody beet steak as most representative. Why? “On first glance, Philadelphia is an old working class city that's rough around the edges,” Brett says, just like the humble beet. However, in this dish, beets are elevated to the star of the plate - just like our city is becoming acclaimed for our food scene, which is “complex and full of surprises that will satisfy the most sophisticated palate.” Congrats, Brett!

We must also point out our runner-up. Though she no longer lives here, Akiko does a very cutting job of explaining of why she chose the dish by Gregory Vernick of Vernick Food and Drink (smoked salmon belly, golden egg, and Parmesan vinaigrette) as standard bearer for Philly.

“The salmon belly honors Philly’s spot as the second fattest city in the country (the first would warrant tuna belly). The fact that it is smoked shows his defiance about Philadelphia being named the worst smelling city. The golden egg represents the rich food scene while the Parmesan vinaigrette reminds us of Philly’s cheesy and acerbic top layers.”

Thanks to all who entered. Let’s play again soon.