Audience Determines Winner in Chowda Smackdown

In an epic battle of two Hell’s Kitchen alumni, Jason Santos, runner up in Season 6, bested Season 5’s Andy Husbands in NECA’s Wicked Good Chowda Smackdown. The hotly contested race ended in a tie amongst the professional judges broken by the popular vote favoring Jason Santos’ more traditional take on the classic New England chowder.

Emceed by Billy Costa, a well-known Boston radio personality and food lover, the Smackdown started with a little trash-talking by the two chefs. When Costa pointed out that Santos was accompanied by a sous chef from his restaurant, Husbands shot back that he didn’t need any help. Santos replied, “Well, my employees actually want to work with me.”

The two chefs, who are good friends off-stage, continued to spar throughout the event. When Costa pointed out that Santos used to work for Husbands, Santos answered with “Yeah, and I made $4 an hour for seven years.” Husbands replied, “Well, it will be interesting to see what happens today.”

Audience members also acted as sous chefs for the two combatants. Team Andy was joined by Barb Minton Parkes and Karen Bruce, while Connie Anthony and Renee Brothers joined Team Jason up on stage. With 20 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook, it was time to get the team members chopping.

Costa let each contestant explain his preparation, and while things were heating up he took questions from the audience. Questions ran the gamut from “What is your favorite brand of knives?” (Henckels for both), to “Why do you add unsalted butter to a recipe and then two steps later add salt?” Answer: since you don’t know how much salt is in the butter, it allows you to control the salt in a dish, Santos explained.

The very first audience question was, of course, about Chef Gordon Ramsey. Both men agree that away from the kitchen, Ramsey is a nice man and a great mentor. As soon as he steps foot in the kitchen, though, “the horns come out,” said Santos.

Questioned by Costa about his early ouster from Hell’s Kitchen, Husbands replied, “I proved pretty well that I can’t cook in Hell’s Kitchen. But I’ve had my restaurant for 14 years, and I’ve proved pretty well that I can cook in Boston.”

As the chowder simmered, each chef demonstrated a favorite recipe for the crowd. Husbands went first and made chicken chicharrones and salsa, a favorite at his restaurant, Tremont 647 in Boston. He stressed the importance of buying locally so that the ingredients are as fresh as possible. When cooking, “think about what you like in food and go from that,” he said. Santos then prepared the lobster risotto that Ramsey has Hell’s Kitchen participants cook every season of the show.

After the demonstrations were over, it was time for chowder judging. Executive Chef Chris Pulling of Levy Restaurants and the great lunches at the NECA Show, Executive Chef Bill Starbuck of Lucky Strike Lanes and the wonderful food at the opening celebration at Jillian’s, and Chef Michelle Jones of Boston’s Summer Shack were joined by NECA members Barbara Cogburn, Jan Boyd and Becky Grenis.

While the judges deliberated, bowls of chowder were passed out to the crowd for a blind taste test. When the judging panel ended in a 3-3 deadlock, it fell to the audience to pick a winner, and in a very close vote, Jason Santos took the title of champion of the Wicked Good Chowda Smackdown.

Recipes from Santos, Husbands and Starbuck, along with chefs from Boston area restaurants built by NECA contractors, were included in this year’s special commemorative gift for convention-goers, “The Wicked Good Chowda Smackdown Cookbook: A Taste of New England Cuisine.”