Alabama chef Jeffrey Compton, second from right, is one of eight contestants on “Vegas Chef Prizefight,” a new reality series on the Food Network. Compton works at Acre restaurant in Auburn.(Food Network photo)
By Mary Colurso | [email protected]
Jeffrey Compton of Auburn’s Acre restaurant will compete on “Vegas Chef Prizefight,” a new reality series on the Food Network.
The series, which debuts on March 5, asks eight chefs to take over the dinner service at several Las Vegas restaurants owned by the Caesars Entertainment company. “With clashing egos, extraordinary dishes and unexpected twists and turns, the six-episode series mirrors real-life entry into the storied world of first-class restaurant kitchens,” the Food Network says in a press release.
The winner will be named head chef of a new restaurant at the Flamingo hotel and casino on the Las Vegas strip.
Here’s Compton’s bio from the Food Network website:
“Jeffrey has been around restaurants his whole life, including his grandparent’s restaurant on the beach in Biloxi. Now 26, he got his first food job at only 14 years old and worked his way up the ranks until he made a career detour and moved to Auburn to study accounting. While there, he met acclaimed chef David Bancroft who took him under his wing to learn his revolutionary culinary perspective. He was so inspired he dropped out of accounting school to pursue a food career and is now chef de cuisine at Acre Restaurant.”
Compton will be competing against Brittney Brown of Detroit; Julia Helton and Lamar Moore, both of Chicago; Jeff Kraus of Tempe, Arizona; Janey Lyu of New York City; Roshara Sanders of Bridgeport, Connecticut; and Juan Zepeda of Denver.
In the first episode, the chefs settle into Caesars’ test kitchen, where they’re asked to show their “culinary point of view using an ingredient beloved by high rollers and vacationers,” the Food Network says. Later, the competitors take over the kitchen at BLT Steak at Bally’s Las Vegas.
This isn’t the first time a chef from Acre has competed on the Food Network. Bancroft, who founded Acre in 2013, took first place on “Iron Chef Showdown” in 2017. Caleb Fischer, a former chef de cuisine at Acre, made the final three on “Spring Baking Championship” in 2018.
“Vegas Chef Prizefight” airs on Thursdays at 9 p.m. CT. It appears that one chef will be eliminated on each episode, and three will compete in the finale on April 9.
The series is hosted by Anne Burrell, a New York chef and TV personality who’s appeared on several shows for the Food Network, including “Worst Cooks in America” and “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” Judges for the show are chef Scott Conant of “Chopped” and Eileen Moore, the regional president of Caesars Entertainment. Special guests will appear on the judging panel, including Penn Jillette of the Las Vegas act Penn & Teller.
