Chef Erik Youngs discusses annual ‘Voodoo Bash’ food fundraiser, which returns to Ybor City next month

Each summer, a veteran Tampa chef and his charitable foundation host a weekend-long slew of events in support of his ultimate mission: directly supporting the community through food education.

Erik Youngs aka “Voodoo Chef” has spent the last 25 years as a Culinary Educator in Hillsborough County Public Schools, helping kids further their education through a variety of sponsorships and local events.

“The Voodoo Chef Foundation is what I call my full-time part-time job—It’s my goal to directly support our community through food education and awareness. We’re coming up on a weekend-long run of events that we do every year: the Signature Chef Progressive Dinner and Voodoo Bash," Youngs told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

His annual Signature Chef Progressive Dinner happens on Friday, Aug. 18 and the 2023 rendition of Voodoo Bash takes place on Saturday, Aug. 19—both inside Ybor City’s Cuban Club at 2010 North Avenida Republica de Cuba. Friday’s event is a fine dining-style, five-course tasting dinner from various Tampa Bay-based chefs (complete with live entertainment), while Saturday's main event is a quest to find the “best burger in Florida.”

Voodoo Bash can be considered the “grand finale” of Youngs’ year-round event programming; this party will feature tons of burger samples from Florida-based chefs, live entertainment from '80s cover band Scream Machine, a silent auction and exclusive dessert samples for VIP ticket holders.

Tickets to Friday’s Signature Chef Progressive Dinner start at $160 while Voodoo Bash tickets run between $40-$75. While these events are certainly exciting, Youngs stresses that his signature dinner and foodie competition are only two facets of his year-round programming. Thanks to corporate sponsors like First Watch and EuroBake, the foundation teams up with the Gasparilla Children’s Parade, hosts high school recipe challenges, culinary competitions and an annual charity golf tournament each year. The foundation also partners with local restaurants to help Youngs’ culinary students stage at various eateries throughout the greater Tampa Bay area.

After years of cutting teeth in local kitchens, Youngs started teaching at Hillsborough County Schools as a culinary instructor in 1997, and started helming an incredibly unique program at Chamberlain High School just a few years later.

“I started at Chamberlain in 2002 where I helped create one of the only model culinary academies in the nation,” Youngs tells CL. “ We actually had the exact replica of an Outback Steakhouse right on campus, where students could learn FOH and BOH skills in a functioning restaurant.”

These days, he runs the Professional Culinary Arts & Hospitality program at Tampa’s Erwin Technical College, but still finds time to host a variety of events and fundraisers for the Voodoo Chef Foundation, in addition to hosting a food-centric podcast and selling his signature seasoning blends. Funds raised through events or sponsorships either pays for college tuition at local schools or helps send students to national culinary competitions.

“We used to send all these aspiring chefs to school in other parts of the country, but there was a big chance they weren't coming back to Tampa. Now, we’ve created a place where we can keep people and their talent right here in Tampa.”

For the latest information on Youngs’ upcoming foodie events and Voodoo Chef Foundation’s year-round programming, head to its Facebook page at @VooDooChefFoundation or Instagram at @voodoochef13.

CL readers can also purchase discounted tickets to next month’s Signature Chef Progressive Dinner and Voodoo Bash by using the code “CL” at checkout.

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