Rivalry is on the menu when several San Diego chefs, including multi-time Top Chef competitor Brian Malarkey and MasterChef winner Claudia Sandoval, go head-to-head on Food Network's incoming "Superchef Grudge Match" cooking competition.
"The food world is filled with rivalries and in the new series Superchef Grudge Match hosted by Darnell Ferguson, some long-standing personal and professional feuds are settled in one-round, one-dish winner-takes-all heavyweight battles," reads the description for Food Network's new cooking competition. "In each episode, Darnell stages two different battles between chefs who have beefs with each other to finally bury the hatchet and win $10,000 cash, a prized knife from the losing chef and lifelong bragging rights over their food foe. From food competition rivalries and business partner squabbles to mentor vs. protégé grudges, sparks fly in and out of the kitchen in this one-hour series."
In the series premiere of Food Network's Superchef Grudge Match, San Diego chefs Brian Malarkey and Carlos Anthony will see if student surpasses teacher. Chef Carlos began his culinary career back in 2010 as part of the opening team of Brian Malarkey's now-defunct Searsucker in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. He went on to spend several years working for Malarkey's Fabric brand of restaurants, including Burlap in Del Mar and Gabardine in Point Loma. When Malarkey launched Herb & Wood in Little Italy back in 2016, Anthony was recruited back to oversee the kitchen.
"Brian and Carlos have opened ten restaurants together and Carlos is tired of pulling all the culinary weight while Brian gets the recognition – but does he have what it takes to step out of the shadows and win the spotlight," reads the episode description.
In future episodes, we'll also see a competition between San Diego's own Chef Drew Bent versus MasterChef season 6 winner Claudia Sandoval. Chef Drew and Claudia apparently had a dispute over social media that needed to be settled. Last summer, Chef Andrew 'Drew' Bent left his position as executive chef and partner of LOLA 55 in San Diego's East Village to launch his own Sonoran-style barbecue brand, Papalito, inside Little Thief in North Park and incoming Papalo, set to open in South Park later this year. In addition to being a MasterChef champion, Claudia Sandoval has also been a head judge on MasterChef Latino and launched a Kickstarter campaign that raised nearly $60,000 to assist her in the opening of El Cochi Dorado ("the golden pig") in San Diego's South County. Most recently, Claudia was the star of "Taste of the Border" travel show on Discovery+.
Superchef Grudge Match premieres on Tuesday, February 7, at 9pm on Food Network and streaming on Discovery+.
