THUNDER BAY -- Yo Chef! is taking the stage for an evening of hip hop and cooking.
Three cooks will compete in a black box competition, where all ingredients chosen by the seven judges are placed into a black box. Competitors Susie Barboni (Salt + Pepper Catering) Veronika Swartz (Pinetree Catering) and Anne Sharp (Bight) will put together a dish without knowing their ingredients.
The winner will join a group of 10 chefs in cooking a private dinner for 10 at Giorg Cucina e Barra, which will be auctioned off at the event. Last year's auction winners paid $1,400, all of which goes back to charity.
Top Chef Thunder Bay winner Andrew Stone said Yo Chef! began as a video project in the Daytona's kitchen, where he serves as head chef.
"After the restaurant would close, a few of us would get together and a couple of buddies would pick out some ingredients and we just did it for fun," he said.
"We were deciding on how we could make it bigger. We wanted to know how we could make it for a good cause."
This year's proceeds will support Friends of Olivia Foundation, a charity supporting families with sick children whose medical needs take them outside the city. The event has raised $8,000 for local charities since it began in 2014.
