Two of the East Valley’s top chefs – Anthony Serrano (pictured on left) from El Palacio Mexican Restaurant & Cantina in Chandler and Salvatore Zappone (right) from Zappone’s Italian Bistro in Gilbert – are throwing down this weekend.
The two are competing in a friendly South of the Border Throwdown – with diners picking the winner – at 5 p.m. Sunday at Zappone’s, located on the northwest corner of Higley and Baseline.
The evening’s meal will feature two appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts (one of each from each chef) and three signature drinks.
‘‘It’s similar to Chef Off!, which was started by John Wong and Romeo Taus, and to other culinary competitions that I love,’’ Serrano says. ‘‘We decided to do our own (event) since the original Chef Off chefs aren’t participating in ours, although they will be joining us for dinner.’
‘‘Sal and I are good friends and frequent each other’s restaurants a lot. We decided to flex our culinary muscles and do something different.’’
As for the food, Serrano says the two chefs are taking the event’s name literally.
‘‘The south-of-the-border theme won’t be limited to Mexican,’’ he says, ‘‘We are going to have flavors from Argentina, Columbia, and Peru.’’
Cost to join the fun is $65 per person, which includes tax and tip. Buy your tickets online here.
