The 11th annual Worcester’s Best Chef competition took place at Mechanics Hall on Sunday evening, drawing enormous crowds to sample dishes from 20 local restaurants and three local high schools. Deadhorse hill’s Chef de Cuisine Robin Clark was awarded 1st place for Judge’s Choice, earning top honors for her almond cake with yogurt pannacotta, blackberry gel, caramelized oat tuile, and sherry gelees. The last time a woman received a Judge’s Choice award was in 2008. Other honorees included Brian Treitman (2nd) of BT’s Smokehouse and Ken O’Keefe (3rd) from the Publick House. The three chefs competed on stage in an Iron Chef finale that lasted from 7:15-7:45 p.m. O’Keefe was named the winner of the closing event.
