Top Chefs to Compete in New Live Interactive Culinary Show Rival™

SAN FRANCISCO - Sept. 30, 2014 - PRLog -- Fans of popular competitive cooking shows like “Iron Chef,” “Top Chef” and “MasterChef” will now have a place to taste the culinary masterpieces they previously could only watch on television. Introducing “Rival™,” a live, interactive entertainment dining experience where two chefs compete and create a multi-course dinner for guests who taste and judge. Today, Rival began offering advance tickets (http://www.rivalshow.com/) at Kickstarter.com.

Rival plans to open in San Francisco by mid-2015 and subsequently other cities across the U.S. including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Seattle and Las Vegas to form a circuit of competitions.

“There are cooking competitions as special events at festivals and local restaurants, but no one has dared to launch an ongoing, live culinary experience with rotating chefs and audience judges,” said Jason Akel, co-founder of Rival and long-time entertainment executive.

The Rival “arena” will feature two dueling kitchens modeled after TV cooking studios with dining guests seated around the action. The interactive show’s cameras and large-screen monitors will provide action close-ups.  An emcee orchestrates the evening and calls on guests to select on-the-spot challenges. An app will allow guests to cast their votes on dishes and change camera angles.

Over 100 chefs from across the country and beyond are slated to appear. Among them, “Top Chef” stars Louis Maldonado (spoonbar of Healdsburg, California) and Jason Cichonski (Ela of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) will compete. Chefs who worked at The French Laundry, Morimoto and other elite restaurants will be showcased.

Ken Frank, chef/owner of Michelin Star-rated La Toque in Napa, California and member of the Rival board, shared, “This show, with its 200 critics nightly, is sure to bring out the very best in our featured chefs.”

“This is a Hollywood experience but with no second takes. It’s just an intimate struggle between two highly-trained chefs battling it out in front of guests and the cameras,” said Stephen Walker, Rival co-founder and veteran restaurateur. Rival board member and Hollywood TV producer Rob Weiss added, “It will be the first competitive cooking series based in a real restaurant. We plan to air the season online and on television.”

Visit www.rivalshow.com to watch the Kickstarter video and purchase advance tickets, which range from a $199 base ticket with beverage pairing to a $10,000 VIP experience.

Follow Rival on Twitter @rivalshow (http://www.twitter.com/rivalshow)
Like Rival on Facebook at Rival Restaurant (http://www.facebook.com/RivalRestaurant)

About New Food Ventures
New Food Ventures is a San Francisco-based restaurant group that develops and operates live, interactive culinary experiences including “Rival™.” New Food Ventures was founded in 2013 by entertainment executive Jason Akel and restaurant industry veteran Stephen Walker.

Download Press Kit (http://www.newfoodventures.com/docs/Rival_presskit.zip)

Trailer (http://youtu.be/SmfnDyHR4ho) (full video at rivalshow.com (http://www.rivalshow.com)):


http://youtu.be/SmfnDyHR4ho