THUNDER BAY -- After winning last year’s Top Chef title, Daytona’s Kitchen and Creative Catering hope to defend their win.
The restaurant competed against 11 other outlets Saturday evening, in which the guests were required to vote alongside celebrity guest James Cunningham.
Daytona’s head chef Andrew Stone lead his team in making a smoked mac and cheese dish. It called for fire roast tomatoes, roasted prosciutto and gremolata.
“It’s a dish that we do in the restaurant, but we put a spin on it for this event,” Stone said.
Stone said it’s a simple dish, but it brings people back to the restaurant for more.
Local food restaurants are thriving in Thunder Bay despite the big franchises coming in every month.
“There’s something opening up every month, but all these little local guys, like Daytona’s, are getting busier and busier,” Stone said.
“The variety of different restaurants you can go to, you can have a different type of cuisine every single day.”
Stone said the event provides restaurants with more exposure, and it gives people the opportunity to see what the restaurants have to offer.
Organizer Sharla Brown said Top Chef has quickly become a city favourite selling out in a couple of hours each year.
"Thunder Bay has become a culinary destination, there is a lot of great chefs in the city and everybody is doing something a little new and a little different," Brown said.
"It's nice to have a variety, from pubs to more fine dining restaurants, so it's great to have a neat snapshot of the different food establishments in Thunder Bay."
Brown added that the event also provides an opportunity for people to try something new as well.
"Places like The Eddy, out in Kakabeka, or Thyme that opened in the south core, a lot of restaurants are opening in the north core, so it's neat to have those represented as well."
