Jeremy Allen White lookalike contest winner crowned
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Jeremy Allen White lookalike winner Ben Shabad. Photo: Carrie Shepherd/Axios
More than 60 contestants gathered Saturday on a hill at Humboldt Park to see who looked most like the blue-eyed, curly-haired, moody star of "The Bear."
Why it matters: "The Bear" is a beloved Chicago show and the contest brought Chicagoans together on a chilly, gray fall day.
Plus, read description above of Jeremy Allen White.
Zoom in: Co-organizers and roommates Taylor Vaske and Kelsey Cassaro "sarcastically" put together a flyer last week and spread the word on TikTok, thinking the event would attract about 10 people.
Reality check: Hundreds showed up, including multiple media outlets and dozens of Jeremy hopefuls in white T-shirts, blue aprons and cigarettes who strutted, posed and puffed for applause.
What they're saying: "This was fun. This was so silly. We had actually had plans to do something else, and then [a friend] hit me up about this, and I was like, 'Well, that's a definitively funnier, comedic and cool community way to spend the day,'" contestant Emma Moss told Axios.
The winner: Ben Shabad from Glenview. After Shabad (clearly) took the crown, he was hoisted on the shoulders of his fellow chefs then took about a billion selfies.
The bottom line: The lighthearted event brought many smiles and laughs. Even the losing Jeremys were all very congratulatory and bumming one another cigarettes.
- Friendly competition, like a well-run kitchen. Corner!
