2025 BATTLE OF THE CHEFS
RUNNING DIARY
There is nothing in the Midwest, much less Omaha, like Battle of the Chefs.
Launched in 2024 by Long Walk Farm, Battle of the Chefs puts the chefs from 8 of Omaha’s best restaurants into a bracket-style competition. Each week, two chefs cook an appetizer and an entree on the farm, which is outfitted with cooking stations and a wood-burning pizza oven, for cooking supremacy.
About 100 guests purchase tickets and try each course then vote for which dish they think was most delicious and best embraced the mandatory ingredients (which are assigned to chefs the week prior). Whichever gets the most votes advances.
The event would be special if it were only for the food. Between four courses of chef-created food, a grazing table, salad, and dessert (from a local baker), guests get a literal feast each week. But even better than the food is the community that Battle of the Chefs creates. This is a group of people who don’t know each other but come together and share a meal together. Week after week people who might never meet if not for the competition spend hours together and get to know each other.
But let’s be honest; having the great food doesn’t hurt.
As the emcee of Battle of the Chefs, I attend every battle and taste every dish. As a way to celebrate the event and keep you up to date with everything that’s transpiring, I created this running diary.
BATTLE 1
Dan Whalen & Moses Moseley (Dirty Birds) vs. Will Birge (Mealbox)
Mandatory Ingredients: Pork & Sweet Potatoes
Victor: Dirty Birds
Date: May 18
The Matchup: Omaha’s fried chicken kings who specialize in scratch cooking versus Omaha’s master of the microwaveable meal
COURSE 1
Dirty Birds: Sweet Potato Fritter stuffed w/ house made Italian sausage atop a hot honey cream fraiche
- The creme fraiche cooled off the heat from the hot honey while adding a richness to the sweet, crispy fritter. The dish ate very light, making it a great appetizer to an otherwise heavy meal.
Mealbox: Cornbread Fritter stuffed with pulled pork and salted pork belly along with slaw and hot honey mustard sauce
- The richness of the pork played perfectly inside the deep fried cornbread, which had a nice sweetness and a brilliantly crispy crust. The slaw added a refreshing element to play with the heavy fritter.
COURSE 2
Dirty Birds: Whole Hog Andouille Sandwich on house made sweet potato shokupan buns with hot honey mustard and pickled vegetables
- This dish, which Dirty Birds made every layer of, ultimately won them the competition. The sausage has as strong a snap as it did spice, and the sweet mustard balanced the heat. But the showstopper was the pillow-y, slightly sweet bun, which tied everything together beautifully.
Birge: South American Porchetta with aji verde sauce, roasted vegetables, and sweet potato puree
- The porchetta was rich and salty, though maybe a tad tough. It was amplified by the smooth, buttery sweet potato puree and tangy, herbaceous aji verde.
DESSERT
For all the great food that was served at the inaugural Battle of the Chefs in 2024, the breakout star might’ve been Brie White, the baker and owner behind Breeze Bakery. He ability to incorporate wild ingredients into cohesive desserts—beets in a cake? black garlic in a cheesecake?!—is truly mind-bending.
That was the case again when she unveiled her Turnip Pie. Eaten raw, turnips can be peppery and bitter, but roasting them brings out a soft sweetness, which Brie paired with a zesty whipped lemon cream and a toasted meringue reminiscent of a s’more.
And the crust was so flaky you could practically feel your bite pass through each buttery layer.