Monday: sN Asian Kitchen hosts Chef Off! battle between John Wong & Lori Hassler

Normally when a chef and a wine rep compete in a cooking contest, my money would be on the chef. Lori Hassler isn’t your typical wine rep, though.

Although she now works for wine distributor Young’s Market, once upon a time Hassler was the owner/chef of Scottsdale’s acclaimed Radda Caffe-Bar. She still does duty as a personal chef.

So when she squares off against sN Asian Kitchen owner/chef John Wong at 6 p.m. Monday in what they’re calling the 2012 Chef Off! it should be quite the battle at Wong’s Mesa restaurant.

The pair have selected three California wines (a chablis, pinot noir and mountain cuvee), and each will prepare a different dish to pair with each wine. That’s two chefs, three wines and six dishes – all for $50 per person.

Diners will vote on who did the better job. The winner will face Romeo Euro Cafe owner/chef Romeo Taus in August.

Seating is limited. RSVP: 602-369-6689 or thebest@asiaaz.com.