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SoDel Fest chef throwdown set Sept. 28

August 24, 2019

Most people have heard the phrase, “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

Two live chef throwdown teams will bring their heat to the Southern Delaware Wine, Food and Music Festival set for Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Independence clubhouse in Millsboro.

A benefit for the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children as well as for Children & Families First Delaware, SoDel Fest features offerings from more than 20 of coastal Delaware’s top restaurants; more than 50 wines, craft beers and spirits, a silent auction, talented musicians and its signature feature, the live chef throwdown.

The oven mitts are off for this year’s Battle of the Sexes, with this year’s teams led by Lisa DiFebo of DiFebo’s and Bill Clifton of the Counting House. Both teams will donate their time and skills to create delicious dishes using baskets of ingredients kept secret until they open them during the competition.

“I am so excited to showcase Lisa and Bill, and grateful for the opportunity it gives our guests to see the tremendous talents from two local celebrities who have both been featured on national television. We are so lucky to have them here in coastal Delaware,” said Stacy LaMotta, festival founder and organizer, and owner of Creative Coastal Connections Corp.

Clifton got an early start in the culinary world, watching his mother as owner and baker at Fortuna’s in Milford, and his father, a third-generation farmer in Milton.

Clifton is a graduate of Kendall College for the Culinary Arts, and his experience includes Matt Haley’s first restaurant Third Edition, the famed French Laundry in Napa Valley, North Pond in Chicago, Henlopen City Oyster House, Dewey Beach Brewing Company and The Blue Hen. A believer in using locally sourced and sustainable products, Clifton opened The Counting House, formerly the Brick Hotel in Georgetown, earlier this year. He changed the name as an ode to a colonial banking term and the heart of his beloved home, Sussex County.

Also a Delaware native with strong culinary roots, Lisa DiFebo grew up watching her father make red sauce in his Wilmington restaurant. Influenced by the sights, smells, sounds and excitement of the kitchen, she knew from an early age that she too wanted to be a chef and restaurateur. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, DiFebo was the first female chef to be invited to do a fellowship at the award-winning American Bounty restaurant. No stranger to building something decadent from scratch, DiFebo turned an old beach house in Bethany into the successful DiFebo’s Café & Deli. Today, she and her husband Jeff Osias are the proud owners of three DiFebo’s locations throughout Delmarva.

While both captains are currently adding the perfect amount of creative spice and competitive heat to cook up their final teams, there is only one way to watch this epic battle go down, and tickets are selling fast. “From the chef throwdown to the wines, craft beer and spirits, to the food, the music and more, SoDel Fest lives up to our reputation as coastal Delaware’s most indulgent festival. I invite everyone to join us as we cheer to five years in 2019,” said LaMotta.

For more information and to purchase tickets go to www.sodelfest.com.

 

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