LINCOLN PARK — Do friends and family fawn over your home-cooked mac and cheese?
You might be a great candidate for the upcoming Chicago "Mac and Cheeze" Takedown, a mac and cheese competition for home cooks held at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Ave., from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
There will be a total of six winners, three cooks will be selected by ticket-holders and the other three selected by judges. The winners will take home Cuisinart food processors, Wüsthof knives and more high-end cookware.
It's the city's third "Mac and Cheeze" Takedown. Matt Timms, creator of the Takedowns, has also hosted taco, chili and bacon competitions in Chicago over the years, but he said mac and cheese holds a special place in his heart.
"I'm super duper passionate about mac and cheese," Timms said. "It's one of the [most] deceptively simple recipes out there."
"Getting yummy mac and cheese right with the right topping is the best thing in the world."
At mac and cheese Takedowns in New York City, cooks sometimes try to get "too bougie [Bourgeoisie]," Timms said, which he believes isn't necessarily the best way to tackle the dish.
"People get it right in the Midwest," he said.
Timms started pitting home cooks against each other 13 years ago in Brooklyn and now hosts home cook competitions all over the country.
There are still plenty of spots available for Sunday's event. Those who are interested should email Timms at matt@thetakedowns.com to enter.
It's free to compete. Tickets cost $20 for non-competitors, and that includes unlimited mac and cheese.
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