DICED Competition Brings People, Flavors TogetherDICED Competition Brings People, Flavors Together

In March 2018, six chef teams competed on the Catersource Tradeshow floor in Las Vegas with a “mystery box” of ingredients and a supplemental pantry in order to become the Catersource DICED champion 2018.

Chef competitors representing Caesars Palace’s Guy Savoy Restaurant, Footers Catering, The JDK Group, The Wild Thyme Company, Tastebuds Catering, Culinary Crafts, and STF Events put their heads together and developed a recipe on the fly in order to wow the judges.  With a $3,000 check on the line for the winning chef team, it all came down to Taste, Presentation, Creativity, and Originality.

The audience gathered to watch their favorite chefs in action

Each station is outfitted with work tables, gas range with two burners and an oven, a sink and electrical outlets. Shared equipment includes bowls, sauté pans, pots, spatulas, whisks, sheet pans, hotel pans, foil, wrap, and kitchen towels.

The audience cheered on their favorite teams

Here’s a look at the 2018 competition, the beautiful final plates, and the talented chef teams.

Chef teams included:

Culinary Crafts Team: Adam Park and Ryan Crafts, Culinary Crafts

LCA Team: Jay Varga and Patai Wormsley, The JDK Group

Caesars Palace Team: Maria Fabbrini and Julien Asseo, Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace

Savor the Flavor Team: Eleni Vavouris and Joelle Upton, STF Events & Catering

ICA Team: Keith Lord, The Wild Thyme Company and Heather Carr, Footers Catering

Thick N Saucy Team: John Mazetti, The Wild Thyme Company and Greg Shapiro, Tastebudgs Custom Catering

And then, of course, the food had to be judged...

Judges included Kathleen Stoehr, UBM Catersource; 2017 winner Ashley Massie, Sodexo; and Karen O’Connor, Daniel et Daniel

Fan favorite Chef Eric LeVine kept the momentum going and questions and comments flowing. Breaking news! Chef LeVine will return in 2019 to once again emcee the competition.

Teams had 30 minutes to complete their dishes and plate for judges and photography. 

Chef Greg Shapiro celebrates his team's finish—on time!

After the judge's scores were tallied and conferred upon, Chef LeVine prepared to announce the winners

The winners of the $3,000 check and trophies were the team from Guy Savoy!

Perhaps you were wondering what the finished plates looked like. In order:

ICA Team

LCA Team

Savor the Flavor Team

Thick N Saucy Team

Culinary Crafts Team

Caesars Palace Team  WINNER!

If you are interested in bringing a chef team to the competition, please contact [email protected] and/or [email protected].

Registration is now open for Catersource 2019 and the Art of Catering Food! Click here for the latest information!