Monday October the 9th, yet another exciting edition of Culinary Fight Club Atlanta began, but this one would be the Seafood Showdown.  Held at the Smoke Ring on Nelson St. Atlanta, I walk into just what I expected.  An array of ingredients for the chefs to choose from and 5 chefs gathered talking amongst each other.  As the crowd poured in, I make my way out to the patio where there are 5 stations set up with knives, portable gas stoves and much more.  Each station has been labeled with a Chef name.  I head back inside to get some pictures of what ingredients the chefs would have to choose from, then I patiently await the announcement of the actual competition to begin.

 

 

The Chefs have 45 seconds to run for their Pantry and 60 minutes to plate up the most Seafood worthy final plate. The chef-a-ree has announced that it is time for the Chefs to race to pick out what they will use to prepare the most amazing dish that they can.  The clock is now ticking and this exciting event is under way.  I head out to the patio once again to catch some of what is going on.  All of the chefs are engulfed in what they are preparing.  There is a lot of cutting, chopping, steaming, and kneading of dough for what looks to be tortillas.  As the awesome smells permeate the air, we all wait in anticipation of what is to come.

 

I head back inside to take a seat at the bar and to order some small bites.  That familiar buzz fills the air from patrons waiting with bated breath for the end result of this Seafood extravaganza. 

I hear the Chef-A-Ree announce that time is up and it is time for the contestants to bring in their plated dishes.

 

 

As the Chefs line up to present,  I grab a spot in front of the judges so that I can get a first look at what pops in and onto the table of judges.  I see Jumbo Shrimp with pasta made from squid ink, something prepared in what looks like a chinese food container, some more shrimp on polenta with shaved carrots, and some flour tortillas filled with a filling that consist of corn and crawfish.

 

The Chefs present their dishes to the judges and while the judges are tasting, I am snapping as many pictures as I can.  The sea of colors from every dish is overwhelming and the look on each judge’s face looks as if this is going to be a hard one to call.

 

Now that all of the dishes have been presented, it is now time for all of the patrons to have a chance to do a little of our own judging.  After tasting all of these wonderful creations, I decide on the Cod that has been covered in Panco breadcrumbs,

 

and fried ever so gently.  As I introduce the fish to my mouth, it melts into my palate like butter. 

everyone has placed their ballots for the Tasters Choice and it is now time to announce the winner.

And the winner for the tasters choice was Chef Ed Harris.  It is now time to find out who will be moving onto the National Competition.  It looks like the ladies have moved into what comes down to the finial decision.

Chef Iliana Cordero and Chef Kirbee Miller.  We are now all waiting to hear who will be the next Culinary Fight Club winner and the trophy goes to Chef Iliana Cordero.  She will move onto the World Food Competition.

 

Congratulations are in order for all of the Chefs that participated in this event.  Every dish was unique in its own way. I have always enjoyed this exciting competition and look forward to attending many more.

Many thanks to all of the sponsors and to the Atlanta Smoke Ring for once again hosting the event.

Disclosure: I was not persuaded to cover or write this post and all word that are use are my own.  I also was not offered any compisation of any kind…..

You can find out more information about the Culinary Fight Club events by visiting

http://www.culinaryfightclub.com

FB @CulinaryFightClub

This was a fundraiser for www.Fight2Feed.org