LINCOLN PARK — Think your super-secret taco recipe is tops in Chicago?
Prove it at the Chicago Taco Takedown, where more than a dozen home cooks will face off for the title of Chicago's taco master.
Matt Timms, creator of the Takedown, got his start pitting home cooks against each other 13 years ago in Brooklyn and has since expanded to hosting them all over the country with various ingredients and dishes.
"The Mexican food scene in Chicago is out of control," said Timms. "Better than Brooklyn, which is horrible for Mexican food. [Chicago]'s got to be the best in the country."
This is the first taco-themed challenge in Chicago, and there are high expectations.
In the past Timms has hosted a Chicago Chili Takedown and a Chicago Bacon Takedown, but he's most excited about the taco challenge.
"For straight-up Mexican food, Chicago is the one," Timms said.
It's not too late for home cooks to enter the challenge.
Competitors are supplied with mini tortillas from El Milagro and must supply their own fillings.
The home cooks each make about 200 bite-sized portions for attendees.
Prizes, besides eternal glory, include Cuisinart food processors, Wüsthof knives and more high-end cookware.
Recently Timms threw a taco takedown at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
"It's super unpretentious," Timms said. "It's home cooks and just a great time."
The competition is a rare opportunity for home cooks to shine outside the "bull---- foodie culture" that has turned chefs into celebrities and restaurants into icons, Timms said.
"There's just not a lot of opportunities for home cooks to get out there," Timms said. "These people are incredibly talented, and they are making unbelievable stuff."
The event will run from 2-4 p.m. April 19 at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Ave.
Anyone interested in competing can sign up by emailing chilitakedown@gmail.com.
Admission is $20 for non-competitors, and that includes unlimited tacos.
Repeat: unlimited tacos.
Attendees each get a ballot and vote on their favorite tacos at the end of the event.
"It's really about the people," Timms said. "People get caught up in restaurant and celebrity and eating out. The people who do eat in turn out to be incredibly cool people."
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