Port Aransas & Mustang Island was the culinary gateway for Texas chefs to compete in the World Food Championships, the largest competition in “food sport”. The inaugural event consisted of 33 top chefs competing over three nights at nine different Port Aransas restaurants. Each night a winner was chosen out of those competing. The event culminated in the Grand Tasting on October 6. Texas is the first state franchise of the WFC. Each winner of the competition moves on to the next competition in Orange Beach, Alabama in November. The competing chefs came from all over Texas to compete. Given the space limitation I can’t show you all of the venues but here is a sample of the competition which took place on Thursday. I hope you get a flavor of the event by this coverage.
The first venue I visited was Lisabellas. This shot will give you an idea of the setup. The competing chefs are on the left. Folks attending got a drink and snack and then a sample of the finished product.
Here are the three chef stations. They had thirty minutes to complete their dish. The competition was outside which made it more difficult because of hot plates etc.
The second venue was The Phoenix. Here is a shot of the BeachOctoberfest promotional sign. This is a Chamber of Commerce sponsored six weekends of events. The Chef Throwdown was one of these events.
Here is a photo of one of the chefs. Notice the building behind which is a Hurricane Harvey replacement.
This photo is of Christopher Beasley in grey to the left. He becomes the Thursday winner of the ticket to Orange Beach.
This shot gives you an idea of the number of people attending the Phoenix event.
We now move to The Black Marlin. Here we have the executive chef of The Black Marlin providing the audience with how the competition is judged and a general statement of the rules. The chefs are located to the right.
Another shot of the crowd attending.
The three chefs at their stations waiting for the start signal.
A sculpture of a Black Marlin. Notice the new palm trees which were replaced after Hurricane Harvey.
Here is a shot of Christopher Beasley accepting his ticket to Orange Beach. Christopher is the executive chef at The Bluewater Cowboy Saloon and Mercantile right here in Port Aransas.
I hope you enjoyed the event.
Fiction Favorites 
Thank you, John, for sharing this event with readers. I love local events and I especially love seeing how Port Aransas has recovered since Harvey. Have a fantastic day!
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You as well, Gwen. Thank you. 😀
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It’s nice to see events like this taking place in Port A, which so often is thought of only in terms of sailing and fishing. I’ll bet it was a tasty evening — even though it’s the sort of event that’s not to my taste. Congrats to your winner!
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Thank you, Linda. 😀
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It look like everyone had a good time. Life does go on, doesn’t it? Thanks for sharing the event, John. Happy Sunday!
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Life does go on. Thaks, Jill
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And – lucky too?!! You get great food competition and i get tennis matches – do you think we could switch?! 🙂
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I could use a little tennis. Sure, GP. Let’s switch
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John… you’ve outdone yourself. You did a fabulous job of taking us through this virtual event. The word play was fun. I felt like I was there — I could hear the food cooking and the sounds of the chefs and audience. I could almost smell the food. Sharing everywhere. Hugs.
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Thank you so much, Teagan. Your comments put a big smile on my face. :-D. Hugs
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That looks like so much fun. The free samples have to be an added bonus to everything. Just looking at this post makes me hungry. 😀
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I had to take the photos with no time to sample. Was glad to get to dinner. Thanks, Charles.
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Sorry to hear that. 😦
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I’ll be right back, I need to see if there’s any leftovers in the fridge…
This looks Iike a fun event, John. You guys certainly know how to push boredom out to sea.
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So true, Dan. There are events every weekend.
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Wow! What an event.
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Yes it was.
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🙂
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Would have enjoyed it more if I could have smelled the smells and tasted the delicious food. Thanks for sharing John.
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I wish there was a way to bring taste and smell into my blog, Lynne. Wouldn’t that be terrific. Thanks so much.
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Oh, John! What a delicious party! I wish I were there too! So yummy!
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Yes, yummy is the word, Maria. Thank you.
🙂
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🙂
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Really enjoyed this tour – I can see where cooking outside would be a challenge for the chefs.
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Thanks for the comment, Joh. Yes I would think so as well.
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I would have been at the front of the line for this, John. So lucky to have this in your area!
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Thank you, Teri. It was a super event. 😀
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Good morning, John,
Looks like I have missed some mouth-watering food! 😦
Have a great Sunday,
Pit
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Have a great one as well, pit.
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🙂
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Velly inellesting! 🙂 ♥
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And mouth watering too.
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Good for Christopher. That made me hungry, John. Life seems to be coming back to the area. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Yes it is, Suzanne. Thank you.
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What a COOL event! It looks like it was well-attended, but then food and drink tends to draw people out. Great shots, John and thanks for sharing!
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Thank you, Jan
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The only thing missing from this post, John, is a taste of the fixin’s!! Looks like a well-attended event, and congrats to the victor!
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I wish I could snd a taste. Thanks, Debbie.
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Sounds like a delightful day, John
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Was. Thanks, Audrey
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John,
What a tasty tour of a great competition!
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Thanks, Marc.
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Looks like an interesting (and tasty) competition, John. I was a little confused by the title, as I was expecting a world championship to find the best chef on the planet. Silly me.
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Yeah well. That is the end goal. This was a preliminary. 🙂
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You guys have some very fun events. Thanks for sharing them with us.
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Thank you, Craig. We do for sure.
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It looks like a fun event, John! Thanks for sharing your great photos!
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Thank you, Lauren.
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I’m always amazed by the events you have in Port Aransas, John. It seems there is some kind of fun all the time.
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Their really is, Michelle. 😀
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