Nearly ten years ago, Jacksonville Magazine debuted its first Great Chefs of Jacksonville fundraising dinner. And, over the ensuing years, we expanded the concept to include chefs in both St. Augustine and Amelia Island. So, for the last four years, the Great Chefs dinner series has featured dueling teams of top local culinary pros battling it out in a plate-versus-plate competition to determine whose cuisine reigns supreme. 

This year for the first time all three winning teams—Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Amelia—will face one another in a one-night-only competition to see who can claim bragging rights over all of Northeast Florida.

The Great Chefs Grand Finale takes place Tuesday, October 29, beginning at 7 PM, at Congaree and Penn Farm. And you are invited to attend and help us crown the kings of First Coast food.

The theme of the evening is “Autumn in Northeast Florida.” Each team of chefs will be asked to interpret that theme with the dishes they prepare. In addition, and in keeping with the event’s farm location, each team will be asked to prepare food that utilizes local ingredients.

Unlike the three preliminary Great Chefs dinners, the event will not be a formal sit-down affair. Instead, teams will be assigned an open station at which they will serve guests, allowing them to interact with patrons during the evening. Patrons will then be asked to vote for their favorite station and dish, with the votes tabulated at night’s end. 

Meanwhile—and behind the scenes—a panel of local culinary pros will be sequestered for a blind tasting of a similar, but more complete dish. While they will not know which team prepared which dish, the judges will be asked to score each round based on taste, presentation, culinary skill and interpretation of the “Autumn in Northeast Florida” theme. The team earning the highest overall score will be crowned champions. 

The chefs competing in the Grand Finale are:

Team Amelia Island

Todd Ruiz - Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort

Niko Anagnostou - The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island

Alan Heckman - Pogos Kitchen

Sheldon Millett - The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island

Team Jacksonville

Jonathan Insetta - Orsay

Rebecca Reed - Orsay

Kerri Rodgers - Bellwether

Louis Kurz - Black Sheep

Team St. Augustine

Nils Rowland - Crème de la Cocoa

Matt Brown - Collage

Genie McNally - The Floridian Restaurant

Scott Ostrander - Casa Monica Hotel

Tickets to the 2019 Great Chefs Grand Finale are $70 per person. Only 150 will be offered. Admission includes tastings at the three team stations as well as a special station presented by the chefs at Congaree and Penn. Each guest also receives one complimentary beverage. Additional libations will be available at a cash bar. Patrons will also be treated to a fundraising silent auction, music and a gift bag upon departure at night’s end.

The evening's beneficiaries:

Angelwood Inc.

Catholic Charities St. Augustine

Barnabas