Meet the Chefs, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s annual cocktail tasting party, returns this summer | Tampa

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Every summer, Creative Loafing hosts Meet the Chefs as the kickoff party for Tampa Bay Restaurant Week, and the 2024 rendition is fast approaching.

At a cocktail-style tasting event, guests can enjoy small bites and drinks from a variety of participating restaurants and bars and also have the chance to chat with popular Bay Area chefs ( when you’re done chewing, of course.)

Meet the Chefs returns to downtown Tampa’s The Vault (611 N Franklin St.) on Thursday, June 6 from 7-9 p.m.

While the full list of participating restaurants, bars and brands has not yet been revealed, a few local restaurants you can expect at Meet the Chefs this year include: Caracara, The Tides Seafood Market, Birch and Vine, Bright Ice, The Brisket Shoppe, Gin Joint, Melting Pot Social, The Brinehouse, Sea Salt and Good Intentions.

General admission to Meet the Chefs costs $75, but an upgraded VIP ticket for $110 can get you in early (meaning an extra hour for snacking and drinking).

Meet the Chefs (and Creative Loafing’s annual “Food Issue”) help launch Tampa Restaurant Week each summer, which runs June 13-23 this year. Dozens of restaurants on both sides of the Bay are participating in the festivities by offering exclusive “Restaurant Week” prix fixe menus and/or specialty cocktails.

A portion of proceeds from Meet the Chef ticket sales will benefit Feeding Tampa Bay, a local nonprofit organization that aims to end hunger in a 10-county region of Central Florida through the distribution of free food. grocery store, operating its free Trinity Cafe restaurant, disaster relief efforts and more. .

Visit meetthechefstampabay.com or follow @cltampabay on Instagram for more information on the 2024 edition of Meet the Chefs.

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