Battle Mystery Basket will be the highlight of the first annual Palm Beach Taste of the Nation benefit, set for Wednesday, April 13, at Kravis Center in West Palm Beach.
In shades of Top Chef’s “Quickfire Challenge†and the Food Network’s Chopped, Chefs Zach Bell of Café Boulud and Dean James Max of 3030 Ocean will face each other in a cooking competition that will have them prepare a dish from mystery baskets of identical ingredients in 15 minutes.
The dishes will be judged by three pre-eminent food authorities. Well. . . two authorities anyway: Dine magazine’s Katy Lynch and cookbook author and former Washington Times restaurant critic Judith Olney. The other so-called authority is yours truly.
The winner gets nothing but the chance to crow that his cuisine reigns supreme, plus the knowledge that he helped an organization that works to end childhood hunger.
You can see the challenge go down onstage at the center’s Cohen Pavilion beginning at 7 p.m. As for the event itself, it runs from 6 to 9 p.m., and costs $80 for general admission and $125 for VIP tickets in advance, $100 and $150, respectively, at the door. To purchase tickets go to http://taste.strength.org.
