City Pages' Iron Fork competition heats up Thursday

Five chefs. Four judges. One secret ingredient.

​Five of the Twin Cities' best chefs will have to take the heat or get out of the kitchen on Thursday, when City Pages' annual Iron Fork competition gets cooking at International Market Square.

You're invited to watch star chefs from Café Levain, the Strip Club, Forepaugh's, Hell's Kitchen, and the Arts Institutes duel in a format loosely based on the Food Network's Iron Chef TV show. You can also sample signature dishes from more than 15 great Twin Cities restaurants. Hell's Kitchen, Sea Salt, Red Stag, Barbette, Pizza Luce, and French Meadow Bakery are just a few of those passing out freebies, which you can wash down with free samples of beer, wine, and liquor.

And once again this year, five top Twin Cities mixologists will also be slinging drinks in a separate competition for the title of Best Bartender.

Here are more details on the event and how you can attend.

Iron Fork fires up on Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. at International Market Square in downtown Minneapolis. Tickets are $30 in advance, $40 at the door, or just $45 for a special VIP ticket that entitles you to exclusive seating and butler-passed appetizers. Net proceeds will benefit Second Harvest Heartland.

Everyone at the event will also have a chance to win a year's free rent from Flux Apartments, or one of five complete sets of restaurant cookware from Nordic Ware.

The five chefs competing are:

• Donald Gonzalez of Forepaugh's


• Adam Vickerman of Café Levain


• Joe Wuestenhagen of Hell's Kitchen


• Jessica Becker of the Arts Institutes


• JD Fratzke of the Strip Club Meat & Fish

The event, presented by The Art Institutes, is open to those 21 and older. For more information and to order tickets, visit www.citypages.com/ironfork.