Somewhere out there, cooks from Tampa are licking their wounds after a firm talking from Titus O’Neil. The WWE superstar and philanthropist was just one of a handful of big names at Amalie Arena last Tuesday night where teams from both sides of the Bay competed in Tampa Bay Food Fight.
The battle, now in its eight year, finds culinarians duking it out to impress celebrity judges (adopted Tampeños Geoffrey and Madeline Zakarian among them) while do-gooders bid on auction items while sample food and cocktails from local restaurants—all to benefit Metropolitan Ministries’ nonprofit’s job training programs.
In the end, Chef Lee Aquino led his side to victory, reclaiming the title that Tampa took in 2024. What’s more is that a rep for Metropolitan Ministries told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that the event has raised “$400,000 and counting.”
