The Culinary Kumite

  s I'm getting myself ready to cook for 500 ultraviolent wrestling fans

on a farm in the middle of Delaware,

I’m also in the midst of getting back into competing for the World Food Championships in October.

Talking to Jerbear about it, he wanted me to spread the word about the WFC, and as much as I want to talk CZW, I’ll hold my tongue and talk about The Ultimate Food Fight.

The World Food Championships is the World Series of Food Sports.

Started in 2012, the WFC has been a proving ground for the world’s best and up-and-coming chefs,

home cooks, recipe writers, pitmasters  basically anyone with the gift of culinary excellence.

Now in its 14th year, the prestige of being recognized as the World’s Best Chef is on par with the Bocuse d’Or and the IKA/Culinary Olympics.

In the last few years, there have been some notable names. Like who?

• Preston Nguyen — Won the whole thing as a 19-year-old, and has been featured on Next Level Chef.

• Marcel Vigneron — The chef that won 24 in 24 and runner-up of Season 2 of Top Chef; also runner-up in the 2019 Chef Category.

• Wanna go international? Let’s talk Mursal Saiq, who’s probably more of a badass than 97% of all male chefs in this industry.

  Born in Afghanistan, forced to evacuate with her family by the Taliban during their civil war in the 90s, she now owns

  Cue Point, an Afghan barbecue spot located in London.
  Multiple-time competitor.

• I’ve even watched SHOGUN BURGER head chef Atsuko Ohgiya chop A5 Wagyu by hand to create her burger… and she came in 6th that year for the category… 6th!?!?

I even have been in a finalist spot in 2022 for Vegetarian… and I did that as a goof of sorts. (That’s another article altogether.)

Every year, the WFC has 10 categories:

• Bacon
• BBQ
• Burger
• Chef
• Dessert
• Live Fire
• Noodle
• Sandwich
• Seafood
• Vegetarian

In each of the categories, 20 of the world’s best compete in the qualifying round, which usually comes with a theme.

The competitors are then judged by what the WFC calls The E.A.T. Methodology

Execution, Appearance, and Taste.

The Top 5 highest scores automatically qualify for the Final Round,

while 2 other competitors are chosen by ACF (American Culinary Federation) Master Judges.

The goal is to be called #1 in their field.

The winners of each category receive a check for $10,000 and an invitation to compete in the main event, the Final Table.

Each category winner competes for $150,000 in three different challenges, each dwindling the field to 5, the 3, and then the 1, who will have the right to call themselves the best chef in the world.

Inside the Arena: What It Takes to Compete

People think you just show up with a recipe and cook. Nah.

The WFC is less a party and more culinary precision under intense pressure.

Most competitors run their dish dozens of times before they even get to the event stopwatch in hand.

You’re dialing in sauce consistency, plating timing, garnish placement… because once that clock starts, flawless execution is the only goal.

You are working in the WFC’s official state-of-the-art competition arena, featuring top-quality equipment and professional stations.

We are deliberately spaced out, with each competitor working in a generous 15′ x 15′ space.

It’s a high-energy environment filled with focus, heat, and the aroma of ten chefs working at peak performance.

The judges only see the plate.

You’ve got 60 to 90 minutes to make something they’ll remember.

While being bold helps, total execution is everything. The margin of error is zero.

A dish that is perfectly executed even if it’s not the wildest concept is often what earns a World Champion title.

When I did Vegetarian, I realized halfway through plating that I was dead serious.

It turns you into a different kind of cook.

Sounds cool, but how do you get in?

Throughout the year, the WFC holds several events in different fields in order to find the best.

Competitions such as the Taste of America series, the SCA (Steak Cookoff Association), Famous Dave’s All-Star BBQ Series,

and even the Minnesota-cultivated Wild Rice Council hold different events where

The winner receives a Golden Ticket

The right to compete in one of the 10 categories.

Over the years, these Golden Tickets have made their way into other countries such as Canada, Japan, PR, Brazil, Dubai, and many more.

Career Impact: What WFC Did For Me

Since competing at the World Food Championships, I’ve been able to:

• Speak and compete at the New York International Restaurant & Foodservice Show (Quick Fire Challenge) — 2022

• Become a Super Chef for Sam’s Club (since October 2023)

• Be featured on Pix 11’s Foodie Friday (January 3rd, 2025)

Not bad for something I entered “as a goof.”

On October 16th,  all of these chefs will be competing at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis, for the right to be called the best.

I, for one, am excited to see what happens, and to potentially get the opportunity to compete again.

In the meantime, I can also talk about more of my experiences with the World Food Championships, and how it’s helped my career out.

Till then.