Nickel City Chef XII: Last Call!

This Sunday, Artisan Kitchens & Baths will host the final Nickel City Chef competition of the program's second season. The live battle will pit South Buffalo's spicy Nickel City Chef Krista Van Wagner of Curly's against the West Side's Chef Marco Sciortino, known for dishing up classic Italian-American fare on Niagara Street at Marco's and operating some pretty great delis.

This will be the twelfth show for Nickel City Chef, a production that mimics the popular Iron Chef America program, where two chefs from the Western New York area work to prepare three dishes in just one hour featuring a locally produced secret ingredient.

The series, produced by Feed Your Soul, has garnered acclaim from many of the movers and shakers in Buffalo's restaurant industry, and Ivy Knight, a recent judge (and all around food and media pro) from Toronto, claimed it was a stellar experience and one of the best events of its type she's ever seen.

Recently, the program has added a live roving camera, manned by up-and-coming video producer, Nathan Peracciny, which beams tight Food Network-worthy images from the competition kitchens onto the dozen or more flat panel screens which hang above the audience. Throw in an array of delicious catered snacks and a cash bar and you can see how attending a Nickel City Chef competition is a food lover's dream. Don't miss it!

The most recent battle (Nickel City Chef XI) featured Chef Paul Jenkins of Tempo versus Chef Jim Guarino of Shango. The secret ingredient was heritage pork from T-Meadow Farm. Upstart Guarino beat the previously undefeated Jenkins by a narrow margin. You can watch more in the video below--it was a great show!