You've been waiting, but now, the wait is over! It's time for our next culinary showdown as we welcome new challengers to the shop to see if they have three dishes good enough to defeat our reigning champions!

Now, you may recall last Spring when Chefs Trenton Garvey, executive chef of Maplewood's The Blue Duck, and Karmen Rayburn, Blue Duck owner, took home the crown! Chef Garvey is perhaps best known for winning Season 20 of "Hell's Kitchen: Young Guns". His victory on the show earned him the position of head chef at Gordon Ramsay Steak at the Paris Las Vegas. Following his time at Gordon Ramsay Steak, Garvey continued to work on the Vegas Strip and served as Chef de Cuisine at The Bedford by Martha Stewart and Executive Chef at Guy Fieri's Flavortown. By late 2023, Garvey returned home to The Blue Duck in Maplewood where he continues to share his love for food with the community that helped shape him. Garvey loves creating from-scratch food using local ingredients and prides himself on butchering, grinding, and curing his own meats. As mentioned, Chef Garvey will be joined by Karmen Rayburn who grew a small baking business into The Blue Duck. Over the past 15 years, she’s had the pleasure of creating and perfecting countless pastries and breads for her amazing community and looks forward to continuing this journey for many more years to come!

Now the title is theirs to defend as we welcome Chef Stephen Kovac, executive chef of the Botanical Height's No Ordinary Rabbit, and a yet to be named sous chef. Kovac is a graduate of the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts as is no stranger to the St Louis food scene. Kovac has held just about every position and performed just about every duty in restaurant kitchens, from his early days in the corporate kitchen at The Ritz Carlton to his time at Harvest, Nudo House and Rockwell Brewing Company. Currently, you'll find him at the helm of the Mediterranean-inspired dishes crafted in the kitchen of No Ordinary Rabbit in Botanical Heights.

How does this culinary clash work, you ask? It's actually quite simple! A week before the event, each side will be given a "mystery bag" of Vom Fass ingredients that they will need to incorporate into their dishes, though how they do so is entirely up to them. Each team of chefs will then create three dishes: an appetizer, entree, and dessert. Each of those courses will then be paired with a wine or cocktail pairing thanks to our special guest Shannon Behnen, certified wine sommelier from Vintegrity Wines! Attendees will vote for their favorite dish in each round, and the team of chefs that has the most votes overall will be the winner! Who will win? That's up for attendees to decide!!

Though to be honest, the real winner is the guest! They get to enjoy six dishes with drink pairings in total, and if this event is anything like our previous battles, picking a favorite from each course won't be easy. Still, we'd love it if you'd join us for some incredible dishes, amazing drink pairings, and to be part of the judges table to see if our return champs continue their reign at the top.... or if they'll be dethroned!!

If the weather cooperates, we intend to hold this event in the space behind the shop for what we hope will be a perfect fall evening! If not, we'll be indoors. Either way, we are limiting this event to just 30 guests, and these events have built quite the loyal following! So don't miss your chance to watch these two teams compete in the best kind of food fight. Tickets are $150/person for six food and wine/cocktail pairings. Chefs to your corners please. On your mark... get ready.... cook!!

Note: If you'd like to be seated with another group who has signed up separately, we'd be grateful if you inform us a day or two prior to the event. This really helps us out when it comes to planning the seating arraignment.

Refund Policy: If notified 72 hours or more before the event we are happy to provide guests with a full refund of your ticket price (Eventbrite will not refund any fees). If you should need to cancel in less than 72 hours, we can either roll your tickets over into a different event or offer you a store credit for the ticket price (which will not include Eventbrite fees). Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Chef Battle: Round 5!