Amalie Arena’s Marvilou Mapa among finalists headed to knockout rounds for Tampa’s ‘Epic Chef’ competition

Last Monday, Feeding Tampa Bay kicked off the 10th anniversary of its Epic Chef competition, where local chefs engage in a series of friendly cook-offs and help bring awareness to the nonprofit’s mission of ending hunger throughout the greater Bay area.

For the first time in Epic Chef history, six contestants from both sides of the bridge gathered at its kick-off event, where the chefs had to serve 300 portions of a dish that best represented them and their respective restaurants. After thoroughly tasting small plates from all six chefs, the crowd ranked their favorite dishes.

Six contestants—Eat Art Love’s Mario Brugnoli, Robert Blanque of Martin’s Italian in Oldsmar, Birria Bros owner Mohamad ElBanna, Wild Child’s Brandon Greenwalt, Angel Gaston of Rooster & the Till and Marvilou Mapa of Amalie Arena—cooked for attendees on June 23, but only the latter four made it to the next round of the competition.

Chef Mapa stunned with her version of classic Filipino BBQ skewers, which featured layers of tender, marinated beef and pork over a bed of garlic rice and atchara. Chef Greenwalt’s tostada with smoked pork belly and pineapple, alongside Chef Gaston’s arepa appetizer with fresh scallop, aguichile and a crunchy, Asian-inspired slaw, also impressed the crowd. Chef ElBanna’s za’atar-dusted tostada topped with braised lamb and whipped feta snagged him the final spot to move on to round two of the competition.

The heat turns up for the next rounds of Epic Chef, where a “Chopped”-style cooking competition happens at South Tampa’s Epicurean Theatre.

The matchup on July 14 pits Rooster & the Till’s Gaston up against Wild Child’s Greenwalt. Mapa and ElBanna go head to head on July 21.

The winners of both rounds will compete for the $10,000 grand prize and bragging rights at the Epic Chef finale on Monday, July 28.

Tickets for Feeding Tampa Bay’s Epic Chef series happening in July at Epicurean Theatre in Tampa are still available and start at $400 per pair.
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This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 2, 2025.