Sharpen Your Knives: It’s the Final Round of Northern California’s Battle of the Blades
We started with 72 competing chefs 6 months ago, and now we’re down to the final 3. Join us for an awe-inspiring cooking contest to select Sysco NorCal’s CULINARY ARTIST OF THE YEAR!
NAPA, Calif., March 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, Sysco Corporation, the leading global foodservice distribution company, is inviting media to attend a live cooking contest to select Sysco’s best chef in Northern California.
WHAT: Battle of the Blades Grand Finale
TIME AND DATE: 3 p.m. PT on March 16, 2026
WHERE: Ecolab Theatre, Culinary Institute of America at Copia
500 1st St.
Napa, CA 94559
Sysco invites media to watch, film, and enjoy the interactive, reality-TV-style format Battle of the Blades grand finale! Three of Northern California’s greatest chefs – Dean Hiatt representing Sacramento, Jon-Luc Maggi of San Francisco, and Robert Root from Central California – are sharpening their knives and preparing to show their chops. The three, each accompanied by a sous chef, will compete to create the best dish in a timed, 45-minute challenge using three products from our Sysco Pantry as well as three mystery ingredients. The selections will feature some local farms and artisan producers, and a five-judge panel will determine the winner using five criteria: visual appeal, creativity, execution, ingredient use, and taste and flavor balance. The winner will be named Culinary Artisan of the Year and receive an array of prizes, including dinner at a MICHELIN restaurant.
MEET THE FINALISTS
Chef Dean Hiatt, executive chef at Poor Red’s Bar-B-Q in El Dorado, Calif., for over 10 years, is the reigning champion of Sample the Sierra’s and top chef of Northern California and Nevada. Chef Hiatt has dozens of awards under his belt and participates in community fundraisers. Poor Red’s is a 99-year-old establishment that opened in 1927 as Kelly’s Bar until Poor Red won it in a game of dice in 1945. Finally, 10 years ago, brothers Mike and Jeff Genovese and restaurateur Mike Hountalas came together to renovate and reopen Poor Red’s. While still serving their signature drink, the Gold Cadillac, the food has taken on new meaning under Chef Dean’s tutelage.
Chef Jon-Luc Maggi, executive chef at Tiki Tom’s in Walnut Creek, Calif., took a circuitous path through the 82nd Airborne Division as a 19 Delta paratrooper, to graduating from the Le Cordon Bleu San Francisco, paid for in part by the GI Bill. Since graduating, the chef with Japanese-Italian roots has spent the past 10 years blending bold and diverse influences in kitchens across the Bay Area, most recently at Tiki Toms, a restaurant devoted to paying homage to Polynesian cuisine and the aloha spirit.
Chef Robert Root, executive chef at The Century in downtown Modesto, Calif., has spent more than three decades crafting a culinary story from Napa’s vineyards to Yosemite’s granite peaks, blending passion, place, purpose, art, and authenticity into every dish. Trained at the California Culinary Academy, he draws inspiration from the land the community he serves, in part by surfing, hiking and gardening when he’s not cooking.
THE JUDGES:
Steve Buer, Sysco region president, Northern California
Robert Herrera, co-founder, Miro Foods
Neil Doherty, corporate chef, Sysco
Bobby Jaklitsch, vice president, Sales Cake POS
Chef Abigail Serbins, reality food show competitor and Bay area chef
RSVP AND QUESTIONS: media@sysco.com
About Sysco
Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing, and distributing food and related products to customers who prepare meals away from home. This includes restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments, entertainment venues, and more. Sysco operates 340 distribution centers in over 10 countries, with 76,000 colleagues serving approximately 730,000 customer locations. The company generated sales of more than $78 billion in fiscal year 2024, which ended June 29, 2024.
As the world’s largest food-away-from-home distributor, Sysco offers customized supply chain solutions, bespoke specialty product offerings, and culinary support to drive customers to innovate and optimize their operations. We act as a trusted business partner to our customers, helping them grow through our industry-leading portfolio that includes fresh produce, premium proteins, specialty products, sustainably focused items, equipment and supplies, and innovative culinary solutions.
For more information, visit www.sysco.com. For important news and key information for Sysco investors, visit the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at investors.sysco.com.
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Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
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