Eater's Hottest Chef in Philly Contest Starts Today at 1PM

Ladies and gents, boys and girls, Eater readers in the Tri-State area: are you enjoying the insanely warm weather? Sounds like the perfect time to launch Eater Philly's Inaugural Hottest Chef in Philly Competition to get the blood flowing. This year 32 reader-nominated and HQ-tapped heartthrobs will battle it out for the coveted title through daily polls, and the city champion will go on to face the winners from our sister sites across the country.

How it works: A special panel of experts have ranked all submitted chefs and in standard sporting fashion, the top seeds will face off against the bottom until we have a final list of contenders. The two poster boys above, Jason Cichonski and Chip Roman, are on the list of 32, but Philly has a serious crop of lookers working the kitchen that can easily run away with this thing. Never underestimate the power of an accent from a far away place, or the flour-dusted cheeks of a sultry sweetmaker to earn some votes, and a place in your heart. We can't wait to see how this thing goes down.

As is always the case, we'll be keeping a close watch on any suspicious behavior, and disqualifications are always an option. So let's make it a clean fight.

Voting for Round 1, Heat 1 starts at 1 PM.

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