Delta, Food & Wine Launch New Culinary Competition

Delta Air Lines and Food & Wine have paired up to create a culinary competition video series, "The Cabin Pressure Cook Off." The cooking contest will feature Hugh Acheson of Empire State South in Atlanta and Athens, GA's Five & Ten and the National; Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch in Atlanta; Kelly English of Restaurant Iris and the Second Line in Memphis and Kelly English Steakhouse in St. Louis; and George Mendes of Aldea in New York. All four contestants have been named "Best New Chefs" by Food & Wine— Acheson in 2002, English and Hopkins in 2009, and Mendes in 2011.

The winning chef will join Delta's culinary team to consult with Delta on select in-flight menus. The team currently includes Michelle Bernstein, Michael Chiarello, and master sommelier Andrea Robinson. Bernstein and Robinson will also serve as judges on the four-episode series, along with Union Square Hospitality Group executives David Swinghamer and Mark Maynard and Food & Wine publisher Christina Grdovic. "Cabin Pressure Cook Off" will be hosted by Jackie Tranchdia. Says Grdovic, "[Delta is] committed to having a really good culinary program in the air."

The show's four episodes will be filmed in New York starting late this month and launch in October. New York Times reports that the episodes will be distributed via Food & Wine and Delta's websites and social media channels. Three episodes will cover culinary challenges; the fourth will follow the winning chef on a visit to Delta's test kitchen in Atlanta.
· A Cook-Off Among Chefs to Join Delta's Kitchen [NYT]