Cooking Up Success Is Back And $50,000 Is On The Line

Thirteen culinary entrepreneurs are competing to expand their business.

For the second year in a row, Philadelphia’s Cooking Up Success is back to award a new culinary entrepreneur a portion of a $50,000 grant.

Sixteen finalists have been chosen, including Joshua Kim for SpOt Burgers and Joshua White from Swiss Haus Bakery. On May 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the finalists will compete in a cooking competition, in which attendees can choose who receives the money.

There are three categories the finalists are competing in: Innovative Food Creation, Emerging Food Business and Innovative Collaboration. The winners of Innovative Food Creation will receive 15 hours of kitchen time at the Center for Culinary Enterprises. The two winners of Emerging Food Business and Innovative Collaboration will each receive a portion of the $50,000 grant, as well as additional funds needed to expand their business. Needless to say, with all those zeroes involved, this competition is a huge deal.

To see the drama go down in person, you can purchase early bird tickets now for $75 per person. Hurry, though, because on May 2 those tickets increase to $100. If you can’t make the event (or don’t feel like dishing out the 75 bucks), you can pay $5 to vote anyway. To grab your tickets or cast a vote, click here.

And you can check out a full list of the finalists below.

Cooking Up success // 2015 Finalists

  • Kristina Beese, The Beese Knees
  • Joseph Green, Affinity Confections
  • Molly Haendler, Spruce Hill Preserves
  • Anthony Hughes, Chef Tony’s Kitchen
  • Joshua Kim, SpOt Burgers
  • Sarah Merrick, Red Fox Gourmet
  • Rob Mitchell, The Cow and The Curd
  • Iliyaas  Muhammad, Really Reel Ginger
  • Chinemelu (ChiChi) Oguekwe, ChiChi & Chima’s Specialties
  • Shannon Roche, Crust Vegan Bakery
  • Ami Shah, Cacao Chaos LLC
  • Michelle Silberman, ChocAmo Cookie Cups
  • Coker Thomas, Mt Airy Deli
  • Patterson Watkins, Hocks N Coqs
  • Joshua White, Swiss Haus Bakery
  • David Wong, JV Rebel Ventures & FRIEDA

Cooking Up Success [Official]