Downtown Salt Lake City Farmers Market

Chef Challenge at the Market Kicks Off Local First "Independents" Week

Local First Utah Presents the 5th Annual Chef’s Challenge

Local First Utah proudly presents the 5th Annual Chef’s Challenge at the Downtown Farmers Market on Saturday, July 7th at 10 am. The challenge will showcase the talent behind three hot new local restaurants: Phelix Gardner from Finca, Buzz Willey from Pallet, and Brock Wall from Avenues Bistro on Third.

The event will begin with a People’s Choice round. Chefs will share appetizers featuring locally sourced food, reflecting the style of their respective restaurants. Audience members will have the opportunity to taste and vote.

In the second round, Local First Utah will provide fresh ingredients procured that morning from the Farmers Market. One secret, local ingredient will be revealed at the time of the competition. Alison Einerson of the Wasatch Co-op will narrate the action as the chefs face the challenge of featuring the secret ingredient in their dish. The winner for this round will be selected by a panel of five notable judges: Angela Brown of SLUG Magazine, Chantelle Bordeaux of Slow Food Utah, Dan Nailen of SLCene.com, Circus Brown of KRCL, and returning champion Chef Jerry Liedtke from Tin Angel Café. The winners will be awarded Champion’s Plates, hand-thrown by local potter Jeff Clement of Adjusting Sails Dirtworks.

The Chef’s Challenge will launch Local First Utah’s “Summer of Independents” campaign, lasting from July 2nd to September 1st.  The campaign, designed to highlight the independent businesses that keep our local economy strong, features a series of events and a Summer Saver coupon available online, redeemable at over 80 locally owned businesses.

Local First Utah is a non-profit organization that works to strengthen communities and local economies by promoting independently owned businesses throughout Utah. Organized in 2005 by a small number of volunteer business owners and community-minded residents, Local First Utah is now a vital, partner-based small business group open to all Utah businesses that are at least 51% locally owned and make their business decisions independently. Registration is free. For more information, visit www.localfirst.org.