Ommegang Hosting Hop Chef Competition on July 10

Of all the up-and-coming food cities, Philly's knowledge and connection to craft beer is unmatched anywhere in the U.S. Brouwerij Ommegang is hosting a touring competition, called Hop Chef, where a group of top young chefs go head-to-head in their city to see who is the best at beer and food pairings, and cooking with beer.

Philly's representation consists of George Sabatino of Stateside, Jason Cichonski of Ela, Scott Schroeder of SPTR, Joe Cicala of Le Virtu, Jon Cichon of Lacroix, and Nick Elmi of Rittenhouse Tavern.

On July 10, the six of them will go up against one another at World Cafe Live at 7 p.m. Each chef will create two dishes, which will be paired with one of Ommegang's brews. Each pairing will be judged, and the winner in Philly will head to Cooperstown, NY (Ommegang's home base), to compete in the final round of Hop Chef.

The trash talking between the chefs has already gotten pretty loud on Twitter, and should make for an interesting event. Tickets to the throwdown on July 10 are available for $55 a piece, and can be purchased online.

· Hop Chef [Official]