Rebirth presents The Great Mexican Cookoff

The sun sets red in the West, and Rebirth Arts Festival is cooking up its most exciting fundraiser yet. Join us May 28th at Beacon Hill – 505 Sport Hill Rd, Easton, CT – for The Great Mexican Cookoff!

Three renowned local chefs will go head to head (to head), spicing up your Memorial Day weekend with their unique takes on three mouth-watering rounds of Mexican favorites – guacamole, margaritas, and tacos. They stand to win free entry to vend at the inaugural Rebirth Arts Festival this August 12-13. And the best part of this competition is– you will be the judge!

The evening will also include an open bar, a silent auction featuring beautiful local art and one-of-a-kind experiences, and live music from the Hartford-based soul-funk powerhouse, West End Blend.

On-site parking available. Carpooling highly encouraged. Cookoff begins promptly at 5:30pm, so please arrive early.

All proceeds will directly support the production of Rebirth Arts Festival, a non-profit initiative dedicated to uplifting Connecticut through film, music, and art. 

MEET THE CHEFS:

Chef Geoff Moore, of the Easton Village Store, grew up in the Alaskan tundra cooking wild salmon and moose. He drove his snowmachine as far as it would go, and found himself in the desert of Arizona, where he honed his culinary skills at Scottsdale Culinary Institute. His subsequent adventures have taken him from the kitchens of 5-Star California hotels to the woods of Connecticut, where he keeps a low profile but harnesses great powers. Look for this hometown hero to make a name for Easton cuisine.

Chef Julio Hermenejildo, of The Local (SoNo), stands at five feet six inches, but is nothing short of creative in the kitchen. He entered the culinary world at age 13, making dough at his neighborhood pizzeria in Congers, NY. Julio received his formal education from The French Culinary Institute in NYC and has since risen to the position of Executive Chef. His dishes range from a short rib burger with au jus and a fried egg on top to a fried deviled egg with a smoked Gouda béchamel. This 27-year-old loves nothing more than to play with food, and has an insatiable thirst for competition.

Chef René Lemus, of Ola (Bridgeport), hails from the jungles of Guatemala. His signature Latin-style cuisine is as much about high-quality, fresh ingredients as it is about stunning aesthetic presentation. His paella is intricately assembled like a towering tornado on pause, and his grilled skirt steak atop lobster-coconut-maduros-scallion rice resembles a blooming flower. René is a man of few words – he prefers to let his tacos do the talkin’.