Chefs, Start Your Spatulas! It’s Time Again for Iron Fork!

Forget about the NCAA hoops tournament, the real March Madness will be going down on Thursday, March 21, at the Musicians Hall of Fame, as a quartet of top Nashville culinarians battle it out for the crown of Iron Fork champion. Sixty minutes has never passed as quickly as it will for these talented chefs, who will scramble to create a plate for a panel of judges using a secret ingredient selected by event sponsor US Foods (which also provides a stocked pantry of staples for the chefs to cook from). Past secret ingredients have ranged from esoteric items like fiddlehead ferns and green almonds to the more-commonplace-but-still-delicious maple syrup and yogurt. It’s always a fascinating challenge to watch these chefs construct a plate around these mandatory elements.

This year’s chefs should certainly be up to the task, and they represent a wide range of culinary specialties. The intrepid contestants who are standing up for the challenge are Rahaf Amer of the upcoming Santo in Green Hills, Jake Howell of Peninsula in East Nashville, John Lasater from Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, and The Mockingbird’s Brian Riggenbach.

Amer has cooked in several notable kitchens around town, most recently with Vivek Surti at Tailor Nashville, before taking on the gig of helping to open the latest project from Maher Fawaz and the team behind Kalamatas and Epice. Born in California, raised in D.C., but proudly 100% Syrian, Amer is also known for presenting special benefit dinners called “Food From Inside the Travel Ban” to raise money for legal defense funds for immigrants.

Howell has made quite a splash since moving to East Nashville from Seattle to open Peninsula, his ode to the flavorful foods of the Iberian Peninsula. He is a huge proponent of utilizing less-common cuts of meat at his restaurant and has worked at Rain Shadow Meats, a whole-animal butcher shop with an extensive charcuterie program. He should not be intimidated by any curveballs that the secret ingredient might throw at him. (C’mon, sweetbreads!)

While most Nashvillians know Lasater from his role as executive chef at the wildly popular Hattie B's, the chef’s chops extend well beyond frying up some spicy yardbird. A graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, he worked in the kitchens at the Capitol Grille in the Hermitage Hotel, Flyte World Dining & Wine and also at Porter Road Butcher in Nashville, before joining the team at Hattie B's Hot Chicken a few months prior to its August 2012 opening in Midtown Nashville. Lasater helped to develop Hattie B’s famous spice blend, but perhaps more importantly, he developed recipes for their signature side dishes and desserts, including the eatery’s pimento mac-and-cheese and banana pudding,

Riggenbach is no stranger to competitive cooking, including showcasing his skills on Season 24 of the Food Network’s popular Chopped. He not only walked away the winner, but he also reconnected with longtime friend and Chopped judge Maneet Chauhan. The pair collaborated to develop the concept for The Mockingbird, where Riggenbach serves up playful takes on internationally inspired diner food while his husband Mikey Corona keeps the atmosphere festive in the front of the house.

While the chefs are sweating at their work stations (hey, salt is a seasoning, right?), Iron Fork attendees will have plenty of time to watch the competition close up and also sample cuisine 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; Taco Mamacita Nashville and more to be named later. Attendees will also enjoy sipping on cocktails, beer and wine. And if you’ve ever wanted to experience what the judges are eating, you’ll have your chance, as one plate from each chef’s submission will be auctioned off for charity. They might even give you two forks if you ask nicely.

Early-bird tickets for Iron Fork 2019 are on sale now for just $35, and with this lineup, there’s a good chance the event will sell out in advance. Don’t dawdle; head over to the ticketing page and get yours today!

Iron Fork is a 21+ event and is sponsored by US Foods, Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin PLLC, Springer Mountain Farms, Shipt, and Chattanooga Whiskey. The event will benefit The Nashville Food Project. The event offers special thanks to partners World Food Championships, Black 13 Tattoo Parlor, Jive — A Printworks Studio, Midtown Printing Inc. and Do615.