What a weekend! The Indy Final Table was unlike any other Final Table. We kicked off the events with Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch’s recognition of seventeen Indiana Culinary Heroes which included restauranteurs and food producers from all over the state that made a positive impact on their communities during the early days of the pandemic.
Then, with the announcement “Let the Food Games Begin”, our ten World Food Champions began their quest for the $100,000 prize. Three culinary challenges were judged by a panel of Indiana food experts from all disciplines. Developing dishes using Indiana raised Pork products reduced the field to five contestants. Next, our competitors were challenged to replicate a duck dish using premium duck from Maple Leaf Farms which narrowed the field to the final three which included Lidia Haddadian, Jodi Taffel, and Josh Cooper. These three champions next faced the ultimate challenge…baking the famous Indiana Sugar Cream Pie.
The entire competition weekend will be featured in a docu-series on The Cooking Channel where the $100,000 winner will be revealed. Be sure to tune in on October 3, 2020 to learn who will be crowned the next World Food Champion.
Click here to learn more about the competition in this WISH TV piece.
Click here to watch Lt. Governor Crouch and Director of Culinary Crossroads Larry Dickerson discuss the Indy Final Table on Inside Indiana Business.
Many thanks for the tremendous support of our sponsors Sysco, Visit Indy, Ivy Tech Culinary Center, Maple Leaf Farms, Red Gold Tomatoes and Team Indiana Culinary Crossroads. This world class team of dedicated food experts truly demonstrated that Indiana is the Culinary Crossroads of America.
