Diners will be in the judging seat alongside two of the county's finest food journalists, Joe McNamee and Kate Ryan.
The County Cooking Championships makes its debut in The Metropole Hotel Cork on 3rd February.
Chad Byrne, head chef of The Brehon & Angsana Spa Killarney and the brains behind The ChefCollab, is bringing his new initiative County Cooking Championships to Cork!
This is a competition where 10 well respected chefs from all over the county cook together for one night in two teams of five, cooking a five course menu with each chef battling one another in their chosen course and celebrating the best of local, seasonal and artisan foods from their area of Cork.
There is a cracking line up of chefs battling it out, including:
YesChef Ireland Restaurant of the Year winner Bryan McCarthy of Greenes Restaurant Cork and Cask;
Brian Murray of The Glass Curtain,
Niall Mooney of Maldron Hotel South Mall, Cork City, Trevor O'Keeffe of Cork Airport Hotel; Eddie Atwell of Eccles Hotel & Spa; Pat Ferriter of Ferrit and Lee; Stuart Dardis of The Metropole Hotel; Alex Petit of Celtic Ross Hotel; Adrian Biffen of The Maritime Hotel Bantry, West Cork, Ireland; and Jim Coleman of McKenna’s Pub of the Year O'Mahony's of Watergrasshill and last but not least, Maurice of Roots Coffee House at The Montenotte Hotel, and Estelle who will be helping to run the floor, joining the competition from AbilityatWork.
It will be no easy task to make the Cork team, but whoever does will go on to represent Cork in the Munster final, so there's a real competition in the air.
Each chef will be joined by a commis of their choice to pass the baton of food knowledge onto the future generation, working together in making the chef profession a more open and sharing culture.
With Peter Jackson leading the charge, and partners Clare and Keith Piggott championing a Limerick team alongside Kerry - championed by Craig Lynch and Cork which shall be led by a team captain decided on the night of the 3rd.
CCC was started to highlight our Irish cultural heritage and to bring chefs back to the roots, using local suppliers and highlighting old cooking styles with a modern approach, with each chef taking part they shall be joined by a junior member of their respective teams, so we can teach the future generation and leave a mark with them on our learnings,
It's about driving a food community all in tangent together, a new wave of chefs coming through with a sharing and caring mantra. The hope is that if we highlight it, we might encourage new chefs to join our profession. The chef shortage is still rife, but positive steps like this are a walk in the right direction to make the profession more welcoming.
Chad Byrne said: "It's so important to have a diverse and inclusive team front and back of house. This is at the core of the County Cooking Championship, making this not only a cooking competition but a community event and of course a barrel of fun!"
If you have been lucky enough to be at a chef collab the vibe will be the same , no hold barred cooking, chefs cooking outside ,chefs serving and interactive ,throw away the rule book type of night where the craic is sure to be had but only surpassed by the food.
