Lake Forest, IL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/09/2018 --On Sunday, August 19th and Monday, August 20th, 2018, the national food sport series, Culinary Fight Club, will host its annual two-day Grand Championship Competition at Morgan MFG, located at 401 N. Morgan St. in Chicago. Day one will be Culinary Fight Fest, during which 20 Culinary Fight Club champion professional chefs from nine states will bring their best "bites" – small hors d'oeuvres – for the audience to taste and vote on. The chefs with the top four bites will advance to day two, The Final Plate, where they will go head-to-head in a 45-minute mystery basket challenge, using a basket of unknown ingredients to create one champion gourmet dish. A panel of judges will vote on the winning plate and the 2018 Grand Champion will be awarded $5,000 in cash, $5,000 in prizes, competition-branded Chef coats and the coveted Culinary Fight Fest trophy. Attendees of both events will be able to enjoy small bites and appetizers created by the chefs along with samples from leading beverage brands.

The events will be sponsored by industry-leading brands such as Bull Outdoor Products ($5,000 cash prize), Samuel Adams Beer, Reinhart Foodservice, Imperfect Produce, Kangen Water - Hydr8YourLife, Rhineland Cutlery, Essentia Water, and more. Guests will enjoy entertainment by US Poker & Casino Parties, A-Z Entertainment Music and a cameo appearance by Chicago favorite underground DJ, Chef and Artist Won Kim. Tickets to Culinary Fight Fest can be purchased at https://bit.ly/2JV6WhJ, and tickets to The Final Plate at https://bit.ly/2M8Fp9f.

The exciting lineup of 20 chefs from nine cities are:

- Janett Malpartida, Chef/Owner of D Road Café – Montgomery, AL
- Cherry Aikens, Executive Chef of Island Delight – Montgomery, AL
- Josh Reeves, Executive Chef of The River Club – Atlanta, GA
- Iliana Cordero, Chef/Owner Concierge Chef Events – Atlanta, GA
- Travis Hickman, Executive Sous Chef of The River Club – Atlanta, GA
- Justin Rexroad, Executive Chef of Social Restaurant & Bar – Boston, MA
- Gregg Brackman, Chef/Owner of G Bar & Kitchen – Boston, MA
- Ryan Rondeno, Chef/Owner of Rondeno Culinary Designs – Los Angeles, CA
- Hugo Miranda, Executive Chef of Four Points LAS – Los Angeles, CA
- John Curley, Chef/Owner of Ink & Knives Bacon Jam – Charlotte, NC
- Matt Pickard, Executive Chef of Blackfinn Ameripub – Charlotte, NC
- Kris Schoenberger, Chef/Owner BBQ'd Productions – Chicago, IL
- Steven Singer, Executive Chef of Michigan Shores Club – Chicago, IL
- Stefano Roman Chef/Owner of PR Italian Bistro – Chicago, IL
- Joelle Brown, Chef/Owner of NOLA Nights Southern Aromas – Chicago, IL
- John Magno, Executive Chef of District Pour House & Kitchen – Kansas City, MO
- Daniel Nutty, Chef de Cuisine of Lidia's – Kansas City, MO,
- Bruce Russell, Chef/Owner of Russell Restaurants – Milwaukee, WI
- Lu Holter, Owner of Croix Valley Foods – Minneapolis, MN
- Brent Berry, Executive Chef of Eatalia – Philadelphia, PA

The judges of The Final Plate are:

- Bo Jackson, All-Star in Baseball + Pro Bowler in Football Founder Bo Jackson's Signature Foods

- Mike Fucci, Chef/Owner at Chef Mikes Catering Watertown MA, Chef at Food Network and Chef/Author at Michael Fucci's Delicious Attitude

- Lance Avery, Chef/owner Big Fork Brands, Four time #CFC Champ 2014 Taco, 2015 Burger, 2016 Chili + 2017 Pork

- Wade Fortin, Marketing manager Bull Outdoor Products, Inc. and Two-Time World Burger Champion 2013 + 2014.

"It's so exciting to see these passionate chefs come together under one roof and battle it out to be named the Grand Champion Competitor of Culinary Fight Club," says Culinary Fight Club founder, Jiwon McCartney. "We are honored to have talents from nine of our nineteen CFC cities represented in 2018; it's the years must-taste event!"

About Culinary Fight Club
Culinary Fight Club is an event company that produces live cooking competitions in nineteen cities across the United States: Chicago, IL; Omaha, NE; New Orleans, LA; Cincinnati, OH; Boston, MA; Nashville, TN; Philadelphia, PA; Pensacola, FL; Sioux City, IA; Houston, TX; Atlanta, GA; Montgomery, AL; Denver, CO; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; Indianapolis, IN; Charlotte, NC; Minneapolis, MN; and Kansas City, MO. Culinary Fight Club partners with notable brands including Bo Jackson Signature Foods, Reinhart Foodservice, Bull Outdoor Grills, Samuel Adams, Mushroom Council, Big Fork Brands, Tiger Beer, The Beef Council and L&C Meats to host events at top venues, such as Navy Pier, Hard Rock Café, Extra Virgin, Bottled Blonde and more. Culinary Fight Club is an official qualifying event for the World Food Championships and partner for the Travel & Adventure Show's Culinary State. For more information on upcoming events, visit CulinaryFightClub.com, like the brand on Facebook or follow it on Instagram or Twitter.