It is dubbed the Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe, a bracket-style competition whose winner will be determined not by a judges’ panel but by the diners themselves. And it all kicks off on Sept. 8 at Partake Collective’s incredible R&D kitchen.
As part of a partnership between Partake Collective and me, I wanted to take chefs out of their own kitchens, drop them into the amazing R&D kitchen of Partake, and have them cook side by side in an intimate setting. And rather than a panel of professionals to determine the winners a la Master Chef or Top Chef, I want the patrons to decide who made the best three-course meal of the evening. Once those winners are determined, they move on to battle again until we achieve a Top Two to battle it out at the finale.
So who is competing in the Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe and how will seating work?
Each dinner will have two dinner services: One at 5:30PM for ten people and another at 7:30PM for ten people in the dining room and six VIP chairs at the chef’s counter. Everyone will receive an amuse-bouche from each chef, along with three courses per chef paired with wine. VIP will receive a sparkling wine pairing with the amuse-bouche, along with several mid-course bites made by each chef and the ability to talk to them directly as they’re cooking. The chef’s counter literally opens into the kitchen, providing a hyper-intimate setting between patron and chef.
The lineup of chefs represents a powerhouse of culinary talent here in Long Beach. Here is who is competing in the first bracket:
- Monday, Sep 8th: Jonathan Benenuti of Bar Becky vs Luis Navarro of Lola’s
- Monday, Sep 15th: Max Pfeiffer of Sky Room vs Waldo Stout of Due Fiori
- Monday, Sep 22nd: Carlos Jurado of Selva vs Jason Witzl of Ellie’s
- Monday, Sep 29th: Michael Ryan of Marlena vs Jason Winters of Speak Cheezy
What can we expect from the dinners?
There will be three brackets, culminating in the finale on Oct. 20. The first bracket, dubbed “Formation,” asks the chefs to focus on what formed them as culinary talents. An amuse-bouche along with three courses will be served from each chef, exploring the roots of their love for food and hospitality.
Following that will be “Fusion,” where the chefs will be asked to fuse a cuisine of their choice with another. And for the finale, we have “Flex,” which is pretty straightforward: We want the chefs to flex the ultimate culinary muscle.
Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe will kick off on Monday, Sept. 8, at Partake Collective, located at 456 Elm Ave. For tickets, click here.
It will be wonderful if you could include the menu that will be prepared by each chef and if there is wine pairing please?
Sounds wonderful
All sold out now
Love seeing the female representation here 😒
I reached out to Chef Kristine over at Liv’s but she’s out of the country during the competition. Chef Dima of Ammatoli is too committed to collab dinners on her calendar. And with Chef Soozee at Wild Chive, I felt it unfair given she focuses on vegan cuisine. Other than that, we are in desperate need of more women-led, chef-centered kitchens.