Great Chefs Event to assemble 40 chefs, foie gras cotton candy, and family fun

The annual Great Chefs Event, for which Marc Vetri assembles 40 chefs from around the country in a fund-raiser benefiting Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, comes off Saturday, June 8 at Urban Outfitters’ headquarters at the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia.

Again, the event is family-friendly, running from 1 to 4 p.m. This year’s additions include a kid zone with with a cookie-decorating station by the Handwork Studio, a large doughnut wall by Federal Donuts featuring a specialty lemon doughnut, a gelato popsicle cart from String Theory Schools, and a claw machine filled with prizes from FiveBelow.

The chef list includes Jen Carroll, Nick Elmi, Jose Garces, Alex Guarnaschelli, Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo, Greg Vernick, Rocco Whalen, and first-time participants Joey Baldino, Elizabeth Falkner, Nancy Silverton, Jeremiah Langhorne, Ludo Lefebvre, and Pink’s Hot Dogs. Yehuda Sichel of Abe Fisher will be there with his Montreal-style smoked ribs, and how’s this for a dish? Foie gras cotton candy with Fritos, by D.C. chef Katsuya Fukushima.

Bartenders include Neal Bodenheimer (New Orleans) and Naren Young (NYC). The beer garden will be supplied by Yards, Victory, Sly Fox, and Roadhouse Brewing.

Since its debut in 2005, Great Chefs has inspired similar culinary fundraisers in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. In 2018 alone, the Philadelphia event raised more than $340,000.

Individual tickets for the Great Chefs Event Philadelphia are $195 via GreatChefsEvent.org.