Chef Eric Grutka wins Palm Beach Grand Chef Throwdown for 3rd Straight Year!

Creekstone Farms was the proud sponsor of the Grand Chef Throwdown again this year at the Palm Beach Food and Wine Festival. After four full days of food-lovers paradise in Palm Beach, the final event culminated with a tension-filled, cook-off-style chef throwdown. With 30 minutes on the clock, three chefs battled for $10,000 ($5,000 for the chef and $5,000 for his charity of choice) and a year's-worth of bragging rights.

The three chefs competitng this year were Eric Grutka (executive chef and owner of Ian's Tropical Grill, Stuart), Bruce Feingold (executive chef and partner of Dada, Delray Beach), and Sam Horrocks (sous chef of Pistache French Bistro, West Palm Beach). The star studden panel of judges included Chopped’s Ted Allen and Marc Murphy as well as Food Network star Jeff Mauro. 

Chefs were able to build their dishes based on a stocked pantry, one personal ingredient of their choice and the Creekstone Farms secret ingredient: Teres Major steak. 

The winning dish was delivered by Grutka, recipient of the Grand Chef Throwdown competition's top prize now three years running. His secret ingredient: Hozon, a fermented chickpea paste and seasoning developed by David Chang, which he used to season the beef. The meat was plated with a side of creamed greens and blistered tomatoes, and a splash of curried yogurt sauce accented by pickled apples.