Slideshow

What You Missed at Last Night’s Great Chefs Event Benefiting Alex’s Lemonade Stand

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Last night Iron Chefs mixed it up with Top Chefs and just about every other type of culinary celebrity imaginable at Urban Outfitters global HQ during Marc Vetri’s Seventh Annual Great Chefs Event. The sold-out affair, which brought upwards of 1,200 guests and more than 50 of the world’s premier restaurateurs and chefs to Philadelphia Navy Yard, met its goal of raising $1 million for childhood cancer research by way of the Alex’s Lemonade Foundation and the Vetri Foundation For Children. While a 21-course private dinner with Michael Solomonov, Jeff Michaud, Marc Vetri and Jeff Benjamin, which Solomonov sweetened with the promise of the chefs working in nothing but their undies, fetched $38,000 in an auction, Abe & Arthur’s chef Franklin Becker raked in $200,000 in donations solicited on the spot.

Meanwhile, Frédéric Morin, from Montreal’s Joe Beef, was super stoked to be on the scene of where the Philadelphia Experiment supposedly took place. Folks who got to try his foie gras double down were just as blown away. Chefs as diverse as Masaharu Morimoto, Alfred Portale, Jonathan Sawyer, Rocco Whalen and April Bloomfield turned out tasty plates all for a good cause. Grub Street was in the house and snapped some pictures of the chefs and their dishes. Click through, check them out, and drop us a comment about which ones look the most amazing.

Plated with yogurt vandouvan and sunflower seeds.
Though the star of Bravo’s Top Chef kept mostly out sight throughout much of the evening, his Colicchio & Sons team turned out this culinary mashup at Quickfire pace.
Surprisingly, the A Girl and Her Pig author was serving chicken liver.
Maybe she will bring something a little more porky for next year’s Great Chefs Event.
Joe Beef’s Frederic Morin caused quite a stir with his totally over the top fried chciken and chicken-fried foie combo.
The Campanaro brothers enlisted their cousin Vinny to help them prepare and plate their ode to summertime.
The Vetri Family of restaurants’ beverage director Steve Wildy was a Negroni-pouring machine.
This dish from O.G. Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto proved a big hit for the ravenous crowds.
The Charm City Cakes honcho kicked it with the crew from L.A.’s Animal throughout most of the evening.
Another of the evening’s most talked about dishes was this beauty from Animal’s Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo.
Goin was so inspired by Vetri’s annual fundraiser for Alex’s Lemonade, she started her own similar event in L.A. In Philly, she fired s’mores to order.
We’re not entirely sure why ducks would ever wear mittens, but Greenhouse Tavern chef Jonathan Sawyer worked wonders with them.
Philly native and chef-owner of Miami’s Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink blew the crowds away last year with his scrapple-laden homage to Philadelphia. This year he brought with him a taste of Miami that was equally delicious.
The Jedi master braved rainy conditions while grilling up skirt steaks outside of Urban Outfitters’ HQ. Inside he and his crew from Barbuto plated the freshly grilled beef tacos with salsa picante and guacamole.
Someone’s always going to do some sort of slider variation at these types of things. Last night at the Great Chefs Event, it was Fahrenheit chef Rocco Whalen.
Mark and Clark brought a little taste of what’s happening on the farm in Ogunquit, ME that supplies their restaurant Arrows.
The chef behind Chicago’s Blackbird, the Publcan and Avec brought with him this huge house-cured blood mortadella, which he served with cuttlefish, artichokes and strawberries.
Yagihashi wowed crowds with this dish from his Chicago restaurant Slurping Turtle.
What You Missed at Last Night’s Great Chefs Event Benefiting Alex’s Lemonade