Two renowned Brighton chefs will battle for the title of (Gleaners') Iron Chef at Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan's 8th Annual Iron Chef Competition on Thursday, August 9, 2012. The event will take place at Bordine's Nursery in Brighton where green houses will be transformed into Kitchen Stadium. Doors open at 6:00 pm - the competition will begin at 7:00 pm. The event will raise money for Gleaners’ Shared Harvest Pantry in Howell.

Iron Chef 2011 Champion Tammy Young, executive chef of Wooden Spoon will compete to defend her title against Oak Pointe Country Club’s Executive Chef Patrick Srock.  Each chef will be challenged to prepare an appetizer, entrée and dessert utilizing the secret ingredient chosen specially for the event. Previous secret ingredients have been: coconut, cherries, red, green and yellow peppers and chocolate. In addition to creating food for the competition, the Iron Chef challengers encourage patrons to taste the special dishes they’ve created for public tasting and vote for the their favorite – the chef garnering the most votes will walk away with the 2012 Iron Chef Fan Favorite title. 

Beyond the culinary battle, guests will have the opportunity to taste a selection of hors d’ oeuvres and desserts from local restaurants while enjoying an array of beverages and bid on a variety of items in the silent auction.  Live performance artist Dave Santia will entertain the crowd with his speed painting prowess; he continually spins the canvas while applying paint. Santia’s style keeps the audience guessing up to the last stroke when the painting’s subject is revealed.  His paintings will be sold in a live auction.

For a nominal donation, guests can enter the Tasting Chance; an opportunity to sample the chef’s dishes during the battle from a front row Kitchen Stadium seat!

Tickets are $50 and can be purchased by visiting www.ironchefevent.com. Tickets are also available at: Gleaners Livingston Distribution Center, 5924 Sterling Drive, Howell, Bordine’s Nursery, 6347 Grand River Ave., Brighton and The Wooden Spoon, 675 W. Grand River Ave., Brighton.

The public can support and follow the event on: 

Twitter @Gleaners and www.facebook.com/gleanersfan