World Food Championships bring new "sport" to Indianapolis
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"Cheferees" keep an eye on the action in kitchen arena. Photo: Arika Herron/Axios
Indianapolis is undeniably a sports city — so, why not food sports? That's the next frontier, say the local culinary and tourism leaders who helped the city land the World Food Championships.
Driving the news: The live cooking competition taking place now through Sunday is back in Indy for the second year.
- Larry Dickerson, who founded Culinary Crossroads to shine a spotlight on the people, products, places and services that define Indiana's culinary landscape, told Axios plans are in the works to try to keep the event "through 2030 and beyond."
What they're saying: "We can be and are the food sports capital of America," Dickerson said. "And that's what we plan to be. That's our goal."
The other side: Mike McCloud, CEO and founder of the World Food Championships, said other cities are always interested in hosting the event, but they've been happy with Indianapolis so far.
- "This is the NCAA Finals for the culinary industry," McCloud said. "And it's also like an NFL Combine for chefs. Chefs and cooks basically come here to prove how good they are, to make that next jump into a new career or into celebrity status or just (create) award-winning menus … for their restaurants."
How it works: Qualifying chefs from around the world compete in dish categories, such as seafood, vegetarian, sandwich, burger, noodle and barbecue.
- Chefs cook in a live kitchen arena, sprinting from their cooking stations to the turn-in table, racing against the clock to deliver their dishes to judges.
- The top seven in each category move on to the finals, where they make a second dish to fight for the title.
Zoom in: Dozens of Hoosier chefs are participating this year at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
- Cindy Hawkins, a pastry chef and owner of Circle City Sweets, is in her eighth competition, participating in the dessert category.
- She also helps lead Team Indiana, which began as an initiative to get more local chefs involved in the competition and grew into a nonprofit that supports workforce development for the culinary industry.
- Hawkins told Axios she didn't think food sports would be her thing at first, but now she's hooked.
- "You just get to meet so many amazing people, and it really does force you to think outside the box," she said.
Plus: It's good for Indy residents, too. The chocolate cake she's making for the first round of this year's competition will be on the Circle City Sweets menu soon.
If you go: The kickoff party is 6-9pm Friday and will feature live music, grilling demonstrations, BBQ tastings and more.
- Tickets are $55.
- General admission tickets for Saturday and Sunday are $28 per day or $50 for a weekend pass.
- Competitions are live from 8am to 7pm.