Four Nashville chefs will be sharpening their knives and showing off their culinary chops at the city’s premiere cooking competition as the Nashville Scene’s Iron Fork returns to the Musicians Hall of Fame on Thursday, March 21. Each chef will have one hour to prepare a plate using a secret ingredient selected by sponsors at US Foods and then present it to a panel of judges who will pick the ultimate winner.
Participating this year are Rahaf Amer of Santo in Green Hills, Jake Howell of Peninsula, John Lasater from Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, and The Mockingbird’s Brian Riggenbach. Amer is known for her exotic cuisine from past stints working at local restaurants like Salt & Vine, Walden and Tailor Nashville. Howell specializes in food from the Iberian peninsula at his East Nashville eatery, while Lasater made his name as the executive chef at Hattie B’s and also while working at Capitol Grille. Riggenbach is no stranger to cooking competitions as a past champion on television’s “Chopped” before helming the kitchen at his modern international diner, The Mockingbird.
The judges won’t be the only ones enjoying fine food and drink as all attendees will have the chance to sample small bites from 20 local restaurants, including: UP, a rooftop lounge; Saltine Nashville; Milk and Honey Nashville; HoneyFire BBQ; Taj Indian Restaurant; Nomzilla! Sushi Et Cetera; Bare Naked Bagel; GReKo Greek Street Food; Daddy's Dogs; and Taco Mamacita Nashville. Early-bird tickets for the 21+ event are on sale now for just $35 at the Iron Fork ticketing page, and it usually sells out, so don’t delay. The festivities kick off at 6:00 pm and the fun will be over by 9:30.
Contributed by Chris Chamberlain
