Gilbert chef to face off in 20th annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off

NEW ORLEANS – A Gilbert chef is among those who will compete in the 2024 Great American Seafood Cook-Off

Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board are welcoming Chef Nick Farrer of Isabel’s Amor in Gilbert to the nation’s ultimate seafood cooking competition – the Great American Seafood Cook-Off. This will be Chef Farrer’s third appearance in the competition.

The 2024 Great American Seafood Cook-Off will be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans on Saturday, Aug. 3. The 20th annual event gets underway with an opening parade through the convention center at 10:45 a.m. and opening ceremonies at 11 a.m. as chef s, each representing their home state, cook in front of a live audience and a panel of nationally acclaimed judges.

The Great American Seafood Cook-Off promotes the quality and variety of domestic seafood found in the United States, according to a release.

“It provides the perfect stage to celebrate Louisiana and America’s domestic seafood industry – the best in the world,” Nungesser said. “This year there will be a very talented field of chef s from all over the country vying to be crowned the next ‘King or Queen of American Seafood’ right here in New Orleans. Each chef will be showcasing their skills with to present the best seafood dishes with a little bit of flare from the states they are representing.”

Farrer has been a culinary consultant for Isabel’s Amor since the inception of its menu in 2013.

Working with owner Tim Vasquez, Farrer helps the company execute on its their culinary vision of being the go-to Mexican Restaurant in the state of Arizona.

Recently, he launched his TikTok page (@southchicagochef) and has amassed more than 25,000 followers. Farrer has appeared on Food Network’s Guys Grocery Games four times in which he has won twice.

The 2024 Great American Seafood Cook-Off competitors include:

• Chef Kyle Ogden; Odette ; Florence, Alabama
• Chef Laura Cole; Culinary Adventures; Denali, Alaska
• Farrer;
• Chef Payne Harding; Cache Restaurant ; Little Rock, Arkansas
• Chef Daniel Peters; Beach Walk Café @ Henderson Park Inn ; Destin, Florida
• Chef Eric LeBlanc; Burton’s Grill & Bar ; Atlanta, Georgia
• Chef Chase Woodard; Parish Restaurant & Bar ; Monroe, Louisiana
• Chef Rob Dumas; University of Maine ; Orono, Maine
• Chef Erin Miller; Urban Hearth ; Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Chef Erika Lipe; SoLa ; Oxford, Mississippi
• Chef Charif Arabe; Frank’s and Frank’s Outback ; Pawleys Island, South Carolina
• Chef Kayla Keys; Lainey Wilson’s Bell Bottoms Up ; Nashville, Tennessee
• Check Ryan Lachaine; Riel Restaurant ; Houston, Texas

During the competition, each chef will prepare a dish highlighting the use of domestic seafood while interacting with the live audience, celebrity hosts Chef Cory Bahr – Food Network Star finalist, Food Network Chopped! champion, and a former King of Louisiana Seafood – and KLFY TV10’s Gerald Gruenig.

Each dish will be presented to a panel of judges who will score based on presentation, creativity, composition, craftsmanship and flavor.

Last year’s King of American Seafood, Chef Brody Olive of Voyagers Restaurant at Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Alabama, took home the crown preparing Gafftop catfish smoked over scrub oak, flash-fried mole crabs with Gulf shrimp horseradish cream, pickled purslane and smoked paprika coral tuile to best 11 of the nation’s best chef s.

The event is held in conjunction with the Louisiana Restaurant Association Showcase.

More information on the competition or to learn more about the competing chef s can be had by visiting the Great American Seafood Cook-Off webpage . Follow the compeition on social media using #GASCO24.