Talented cooks with an inspired food or beverage business concept or early stage business are invited to enter this year’s Hottest Kitchen Entrepreneur Challenge, a regional contest to find Wisconsin’s next great food entrepreneur. The challenge is sponsored by Milwaukee Area Technical College; Reliable Water Services, a statewide provider of commercial water heaters, boilers and water softeners; and FaB Wisconsin, the state’s food and beverage industry cluster network.
This year’s contest features a start-up category for those with a brand new food business idea and an early stage category for food entrepreneurs who have already launched but are looking for help to get to the next level.
Aspiring chefs, home cooks and early stage food entrepreneurs throughout Wisconsin can enter online at www.hotwater247.com by submitting a short application and uploading a photo of their recipe or product concept.
The grand prize winner in each category will receive:
- $2,000 in seed money from Reliable Water Services
- Tuition for a three-credit course at MATC during the 2015-16 academic year
- A private meeting with food industry executives serving on FaB Wisconsin’s advisory council and a one-year membership in FaB Wisconsin
- Commercial kitchen and consultation services from MKE Kitchen plus registration fee for Riverwest Farmer’s Market, if appropriate
- Prize package worth $350 from Fein Brothers Restaurant Equipment & Supplies
Finalists will be selected in late May to participate in a final judging event in July at MATC’s future Food Maker School at the MATC Education Center at Walker’s Square.
Judges for the contest include: Kurt Fogle, executive pastry chef for SURG Restaurant Group; Jan Kelly, owner and chef of the Meritage restaurant; Peter Gottsacker, president of Wixon Inc.; Lynn Sbonik, co-owner of Beans & Barley; Nick Maas, premise specialist for Agave Loco LLC; Jennifer Marino, owner of Angelic Bakehouse; and Rakesh (Ryan) Rehan, owner of Cafe India.
For more information, visit Reliable Water Services at www.hotwater247.com.
