Want to discover the next hot DFW chefs? Head to Chefs for Farmers’ big sous chef “Mix Off” dine-around this Sunday

More than a dozen Dallas-area sous chefs and bartenders will compete for People’s Choice awards this Sunday, June 16,  when Chefs for Farmers hosts its annual Mix Off sous cooking and cocktail competition.

“Executive and lead chefs usually get all the attention and applause, so we created an event to let their assistants shine,” said Iris McCallister, the co-founder and lead organizer of the Chefs for Farmers brand.

The casual dine-around event is expected to draw more than 350 food fanatics and is restricted to adults at least 21 years old. Each of the eight competing chefs was told to serve small plates of some kind of “street food” – something you could eat on the run or might pick up from a street vendor. Similarly, each of the bartenders will be serving adult cocktails to thirsty souls. Attendees will then vote on their choice for best chef and best bartender. The winning chef snags a spot in the big Chefs for Farmers main event, the Culinary Village diner-around, to be held in September. Invitations to cook at the Culinary Village are typically restricted to lead chefs and restaurant owners.

“These sous chefs are the rising stars in the restaurant world,” McCallister said. If I were a restaurateur or looking to open a new restaurant, I would attend just to scout the talent and maybe recruit a talented underdog for an executive chef job.

Chefs for Farmers is a group of community chefs, bartenders, farmers, ranchers, restaurateurs and volunteers who band together to raise money for local farmers who often survive on low margins and occasionally need some help. This year, for example, a Dallas-area farmer told CFF that a used manure spreader was on her wish list and asked if CFF could help.

If you attend, you won’t go away hungry…or thirsty. Pick up tickets here.