Kevin Gillespie Named Celebrity Chef Cook-Off Champion

You may recall our recommendation to take a road trip to the Gig Harbor Wine and Food Festival recently, and maybe you even had a chance to enjoy the Celebrity Chef Cook-Off. But if life kept you closer to home, here's what went down.

It was a close competition, but Chef Gillespie was appointed the Champion of the 2011 Gig Harbor Wine and Food Festival Celebrity Chef Cook-Off.

In addition to winning the crowd over with his southern charm and general nice-guyness (I watched him talk one-on-one and take the time to pose for photos with each food purveyor in between his stints on stage), he turned out two mouth watering dishes including chargrilled suckling pork over a thai basil rice noodle salad with Vietnamese herbs and a pork skin and farro risotto.

Meanwhile local favorite (there were actually people chanting 'local boy' just before the judges announced the winner) Chef Thad Lyman of Gig Harbor's own Brix 25 nipped at Gillispie's heels with such crowd favorites as spicy cinnamon-rubbed ribs with pickled rainier cherry and Bacon gelato (we've got the recipe for you) over tempura-battered banana fritter.

The event hosted nearly 700 eaters and drinkers, and is expected to raise $40,000 for Gig Harbor history.