Get to know the 6 local chefs competing in the kitchen at the 2023 Food Prize in Shreveport
The 2023 Food Prize event "Come and Get It!" is taking place on Friday, October 20 at the Remington Garage in downtown Shreveport. Get to know a little more about the six chefs who will be battling it out in the kitchen for the Golden Fork and Audience Choice awards.
Come out to the Remington Garage on Friday night to watch all the local chefs cooking their hearts out and taste their amazing dishes to cast your vote for the Audience Choice Award.
Megan Chavez - Owner, Prepped Up Meals
Chef Megan Chavez is a busy mom, wife and business owner. She has been cooking since she was six with her grandma who taught her the importance of organic food long before it was trendy.
Chavez has traveled the world to experience ingredients. She loves cooking healthy food that makes people feel great, but she's not afraid to use a little - or a lot - of heat, salt and fat when the occasion calls for some big smiles.
Anthony Felan - Owner and Executive Chef, Fat Calf Brasserie
Chef Anthony Felan is a graduate of Le Cordon Blue College of Culinary Arts in San Francisco. His love for Louisiana and family brought him back home in 2010 where he joined Wine Country Bistro as the Executive Chef.
In 2017, Felan opened his food truck Fat Calf Boucherie and in 2019, he and his wife Amand opened Fat Calf Brasserie. The restaurant is a farm fresh and slow food concept with a French influence that Felan is well known for.
Ryan Gillespie - Bossier Parish School for Technology and Innovative Learning
Chef Ryan Gillespie has over 20 years in the industry with over 10 years as Executive Chef in casinos, including The Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Harrah's, the Horseshoe Hotel and Casino, Boomtown, Casperkill Country Club in Poughkeepsie, NY and more.
Currently, Gillespie trains future chefs and culinarians at Bossier Parish School for Technology and Innovative Learning (BOSTIL).
Hardette Harris - Owner, Us Up North
Chef Hardette Harris created the official meal of North Louisiana, only the second official meal in the U.S. that was unanimously passed during the 2105 Louisiana Legislative session.
Harris invites you to her table to enjoy a few dishes from the official meal to experience authentic food of the rural American south. The culinary experiences are designed to treat you like family. You will enjoy an old-fashioned southern meal served family style and learn how to prepare hot water cornbread or pick and wash greens.
John Strand - Owner, Accents Personal Chef Service
Chef John Strand entered the U.S. Army at 17 and gained classic culinary education and experience during his 24 years of service.
Upon Strand's retirement, he settled in the Shreveport-Bossier area and in 2006, he created Accents Personal Chef Service, a testament and reflection of his world travels. His personal and intimate food experiences are exclusively tailored to each client who enjoy fine dining the way it was meant to be.
Dylan Teekell - Co-Chef, Ghost Ramen
Chef Dylan Teekell comes from a family of restaurateurs in Shreveport but has carved his own path working back of house in many local eateries before teaming up with Chef Jon Ortiz at The Noble Savage Tavern.
Following their success with ramen nights at Noble Savage, the pair started Ghost Ramn which opened as a food truck at The Lot in downtown Shreveport. In 2022, Ghost Ramen started a residency at Stray Cat bar in downtown Shreveport and now it operates for lunch and dinner at Chef John Strand's Accents restaurant space.
Each of the six competing chefs will be paired up with one of the six chefs who did not make the cut from the two Society of the Golden Fork dinner sessions from earlier this year.
Chef Megan Chavez will be assisted by Chef Robin Moore.
Moore is the owner and chef at the Jamaican mobile restaurant Island Vibes. She attributes her unique palate to being brought up in a diverse New Jersey neighborhood where she delivered pre-made meals.
Chef Anthony Felan will be assisted by Chef Ciny Johnson
Johnson is the owner of Southern Faire and comes from a long line of Southern and Country cooks, especially her mother Joan Gleason. Johnson received her MBA from Centenary College in 2011 where she focused on creating a food and coffee business.
Chef Ryan Gillespie will be assisted by Chef Val Benn
Benn is the Executive Chef of the new Shreveport restaurant The Pearl and is a newcomer to the Food Prize family. Benn is hungry to make a name and a mark on the local food scene.
Chef Hardette Harris will be assisted by Chef Chris Hayes
Hayes is the Executive Chef of The Smoking Oyster who fell in love with cooking by watching his elders joyfully prepare food for family gatherings. Hayes graduated from Grambling State University before enrolling in the Culinary Arts program at Louisiana Technical Community College.
Chef John Strand will be assisted by Chef Tootie Morrison
Morrison is the owner and chef of Earnestly Tootie's in Shreveport. Morrison won the Battle for the Golden Fork at the 2015, 2020 and 2021 Food Prizes and has appeared on the Food Network and was recognized as one of Louisiana Life Magazine's Great Louisiana Chefs of 2017. .
Chef Dylan Teekell will be assisted by Chef Brandon Sooter
Sooter is the Executive Chef of the Blue Frog in Marshall, TX and was previous the Executive Chef at Bella Fresca in Shreveport. Sooter has spent the last 20 years making a name for himself in the Shreveport culinary scene after learning to cook amidst his parent's divorce when he was young.
Tickets for the Food Prize "Come and Get It!" event are currently on sale for $250 and includes tastes of all six chef's creations and drinks.
You can purchase your tickets at the Prize Fest website.
Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Check out the 6 chefs competing at Food Prize in downtown Shreveport
