An 18-wheeler with a state-of-the-art mobile kitchen brings Top Chef: The Tour to 20 cities across the country, including our own. The bus parks alongside the Ybor City Saturday Morning Market this weekend, a seeming perfect pairing with its generous selection of gourmet sauces and jellies, homemade honey, organic fruits, veggies and herbs, fresh baked breads, fresh eggs and plenty else. Local foodies get the chance to board the bus, watch (and in some cases take part in) live cooking demonstrations by two chefs from the hit Bravo show, and enjoy tastes of the completed dishes at the demo's conclusion. Those who miss out on securing reserved seats can watch the culinary excitement on the "jumbo-tron" 52-inch TV screen outside. The chefs scheduled to appear in Tampa were not confirmed as of this writing, but previous stops have, for the most part, featured alumni from the most recent season, including winning Chicago chef Stephanie Izard, fun-loving food maniac Andrew D'Ambrosi of NYC, and his bromantic partner-in-crime, former Clearwater Beach resident and current Capitol Hill eatery owner Spike Mendelsohn. The chefs confirmed to appear in Tampa are Season 4 runner-up and Atlanta culinary innovator Richard Blaise, and Season 2 Latin food extraordinaire and Ft. Lauderdale Hi Life Cafe executive chef Carlos Fernandez. Mayor Pam Iorio joins the duo for their first cooking demo. Sat., September 20, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., with Top Chef demos at 10:30 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m., Centennial Park, between Eighth Avenue and 19th Street, Ybor City, free admission.
