World Food Championships to make Indy debut this weekend

In most settings, a debate about what classifies as a sandwich is a low-stakes conversation. Someone may say a hot dog qualifies. A friend replies, “No way.”

But when the World Food Championships come to your city, the definition of a sandwich is more than lighthearted banter.

Billed as the “world’s largest food sport competition,” the World Food Championships will feature more than 1,200 chefs from more than 30 countries battling in 12 categories this weekend at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1202 E. 38th St. This is Indianapolis’ first time hosting the 12-year-old event; 21 Indiana chefs are scheduled to compete.

JJ Boston is an Indianapolis chef and a first-time World Food Championships participant who will compete in the sandwich category. Boston said he will have 90 minutes to craft a sandwich in his opening round, which has been assigned a theme of “grilled gourmet.” The owner of Chef JJ’s private event space said the WFC isn’t overly strict about its sandwich definition.

“You can almost do anything and call it a sandwich,” Boston said. “But I’m a traditionalist. When you say ‘grilled gourmet’ and some of your judging topics are crunchy and melty and cheesy, I think, ‘Well, there’s going to be bread in that sandwich.’

“Now you have two choices: Are you buying that bread, or are you making that bread? That’s where we get into ‘food sport.’ If you come in from out of town, go to Amelia’s and buy some awesome bread, is that better than seeing me make bread from scratch and execute that in 90 minutes?”

Boston’s pre-game analysis is suggestive of strategy and showmanship associated with popular cooking competition TV shows. “Chopped,” a Food Network hit hosted by Carmel High School and Purdue University alum Ted Allen, debuted in 2009. Japanese series “Iron Chef” built its audience in the 1990s.

Mike Eaton, the Florida-based CEO of World Food Championships Holdings since 2023, makes his own TV reference when saying he wants the competition to become an “American Idol” for chefs. Eaton formerly worked in brand marketing for Fremantle, producer of “American Idol,” and for footwear and clothing brand Reebok.

Eaton credited World Food Championships founder Mike McCloud for establishing the competition that’s been staged in Las Vegas; Dallas; Kissimmee, Florida; and the Gulf Shores region of Alabama.

“Our goal is to put some lighter fluid on the property and grow it into something much bigger,” Eaton said.

The CEO also envisions Indianapolis as a long-term home for the event. “It’s a tremendous pain to try to move this thing,” he said.

The public can attend the WFC’s opening rounds on Saturday and Sunday as well as the final rounds on Monday and Tuesday. Single-day tickets are priced at $15, but admission is free before 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Doors open at 9 a.m. each day.

In addition to sandwiches, the World Food Championships devotes competition categories to bacon, barbecue, burger, chef, cocktail, dessert, live fire, rice/noodle, seafood, soup and vegetarian.

A deal is in place to make an unscripted TV series based on the World Food Championships in 2025. Los Angeles-based production company Propagate, responsible for documentaries based on Notre Dame Cathedral and Hillary Clinton, is developing the series.

Eaton said he looks to World Wrestling Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship and Professional Bull Riders as inspirations for growing the World Food Championships. Sports and entertainment company Endeavor owns the WWE, UFC and PBR, and Endeavor subsidiary IMG is a key investor in the World Food Championships.

Road to Indy

How did the WFC land in Indianapolis after completing a three-year run in Dallas in 2023? Eaton credited Larry Dickerson, director of Culinary Crossroads, and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch for recruiting the event.

Dickerson first attended the World Food Championships in 2019, when he identified Indiana’s competitors—known as Team Indiana—as a catalyst for his Culinary Crossroads organization that promotes the state’s food and dining community.

“Chefs and restaurateurs play an important role in the community,” Dickerson said. “They help create what the quality of life is.”

Dickerson said Crouch accompanied Team Indiana to one of the Dallas editions of the WFC. “She said, ‘Why isn’t this in Indianapolis?’” Dickerson recalled.

Crouch then facilitated partnerships with Indiana Grown, the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Destination Development Corp. to bolster the state’s pitch to the food sport event, Dickerson said.

In 2020, the culinary and conference center at Ivy Tech Community College hosted the WFC’s “Final Table” competition. The “Final Table” follows the larger World Food Championships event and determines a grand prize winner among chefs who take top honors in individual categories.

Dickerson, who grew up in Henry County, said he worked to recruit the World Food Championships as a way to make Indiana more attractive to prospective residents.

“It’s a great asset for workforce recruitment and workforce retention,” Dickerson said. “Whether it’s large corporations or small businesses, we have people day in and day out who reach out to folks and say, ‘We’d like to have you come work for us.’ Some people say, ‘I’d really like to work for you, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to move to Indianapolis or Fort Wayne or Evansville.’ When people recognize what we have to offer, that makes a true impact on their decision-making.”

Culinary carnival

The World Food Championships will augment the event’s competitions with VIP tastings, kitchen demonstrations, barbecue showcases and appearances by celebrity chefs.

But Dickerson doesn’t downplay the opportunity to catch home cooks and industry pros vying for $10,000 in each of the WFC categories.

“If you have any interest, which a lot of folks do, in watching all of this food-related competition on TV, you can see the premier event live and not scripted,” Dickerson said.

The roster of celebrity chefs includes Ohio native Erica Blaire Roby, a past winner of Food Network’s “BBQ Brawl.”

“Imagine every state fair in the nation brought under one tent,” Roby said of the World Food Championships. “There will be no shortage of any type of food you can imagine. Some representation of that will be there.”

Similar to athletic competitions narrated by play-by-play announcers, the WFC will feature Roby in the role of “foodcaster” for attendees.

“I basically will give my insights on what I see the chefs doing and what it’s like to be a competitor under a time crunch,” Roby said. “It’s not just cooking. It’s a mental game, too, to snag that championship and get that crown.”

A premium “Taste of WFC” ticket, available for $125, allows attendees to sample dishes created by past event winners.

Meanwhile, general admission tickets provide access to attractions inside and outside the Indiana Farm Bureau Fall Creek Pavilion.

Eaton said it’s important to offer attendees more than one thing to do.

“If you have 44 kitchens going at the same time and you’re watching people cook, you’re probably not going to stand there for four hours and just watch,” Eaton said. “It will be kind of a carnival atmosphere of being able to eat some stuff and be able to watch a demo. You can go out to see the live fire and talk to the barbecue pit masters. We have 54 teams coming in with their big rigs.”

Made to taste

Team Indiana was co-founded in 2015 by Circle City Sweets owner Cindy Hawkins and Craig Baker, executive chef for the soon-to-open InterContinental Hotel.

Baker, a competitor this year in the sandwich category, won the chef category at 2017’s WFC. Hawkins serves as president of Team Indiana, which recently attained nonprofit status for its mentoring and educational programs. This weekend, Hawkins will compete in the dessert category.

Michael Gomez, owner of Gomez Catering and Events, will compete at the event for the third time. The Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School and Indiana University alum is familiar with the E.A.T. judging methodology (based on an item’s execution, appearance and taste).

Gomez said it’s wise for chefs to not complicate their creations with too many components.

“You need to make sure what the judge is tasting and what they’re getting is in that first bite,” Gomez said. “You don’t want to make them look for that other flavor to make it work. There’s no time for those judges to do that.”

This year, Gomez will compete in the bacon category. While his business previously was known as Gomez BBQ, he considered the name too restrictive.

In recent weeks, he prepared French cuisine for a Culinary Crossroads series at Broad Ripple event space Vanguard and a German-themed meal for a private Oktoberfest party. Gomez also made meals this year at racetracks in Austin, Texas, and Watkins Glen, New York, while working for auto-racing client Conquest Racing.

One of Team Indiana’s barbecue competitors is Mark LaFay, owner of Old Major Market sausage and bacon company. This will be LaFay’s first appearance at the World Food Championships. His barbecue crew placed second at this summer’s Indiana State Fair contest—a qualifying event for the WFC. The team that took top honors passed its “golden ticket” to LaFay because of a scheduling conflict.

“I’m not a career competitor in food, so we’re just happy to participate and have a crack at getting some hardware,” LaFay said.

At the same time, LaFay said, the WFC gives Indianapolis a chance for overdue recognition.

“We’re a major city that doesn’t have any Michelin stars and has yet to win a James Beard award,” LaFay said. “I think it’s cool that they’re bringing a globally recognized food competition here. I don’t know if that necessarily will raise the caliber of cooking or raise the bar of expectations for how restaurants need to perform, at least within the fine dining space, because I think that’s largely driven by culture. But I do think it’s going to put a spotlight on our culinary culture. There’s a lot of great food to be had here, regardless [of whether] it’s white tablecloth.”

According to the Michelin Guide, more than 200 U.S. restaurants have earned at least one Michelin star for exceptional food quality. Although several Indianapolis chefs have been selected as semifinalists for James Beard Foundation awards, none has been selected as a winner. In 2012, St. Elmo Steak House won a James Beard award in the America’s Classics category.

Cooking for the future

Boston founded Chef JJ’s in 2005 with an emphasis on kamado-style cooking in ceramic grills (with the most prominent style being the Big Green Egg).

He hosts private events and classes at Chef JJ’s Public House, 42 W. South St. It’s a downtown space that can help strengthen Team Indiana and the food and beverage scene overall, Boston said.

“We can use it as an asset to help the culinary community along,” he said. “I think the transition after COVID pretty much wiped out a whole generation of hospitality people. It’s almost like a rebuild or a restart. They’re going to need a place to build solid relationships.”

World Food Championships CEO Eaton said he’s also working to build a support network in the city.

“We don’t want to leave Indianapolis,” Eaton said. “We want deep roots. We’ve looked at the economic impact of what we’ve done in Indiana, from hiring staffing companies, culinary companies, event-activation companies, social media sponsorships and public relations. We’re probably investing close to $4 million before we even open the doors for the event.”

Culinary Crossroads leader Dickerson said the Indiana State Fairgrounds can accommodate the WFC as it pursues a larger presence.

“I think that once people get out there and have an idea of what this is, whatever we bring this year will grow exponentially in coming years,” Dickerson said. “One of the things we told the World Food Championships folks is that the event can’t get too big for us. We can grow to whatever level they choose to grow.”•