“Yes, chef!” said the hungry horde sampling gourmet bites from 30 top restaurants at the ninth annual Tampa Bay Food Fight, benefiting Metropolitan Ministries’ Hunger Relief Network. Emcee Anji Corley, with hype help from Titus O’Neil, fired up a Tampa versus St. Petersburg restaurateur cook-off featuring surprise ingredients — suckling pig, octopus, scallops and more — revealed only upon arrival at the St. Petersburg Coliseum on Sept. 15. Judges, including celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian and his daughter Anna, crowned Team Tampa the 2026 winner. With nearly 700 guests, the delicious showdown will provide 229,000 Metropolitan Ministries meals to feed community members in need.
Shane Donaldson, Xiomara Luciano, Nicholas Glover, and Kéto and Mélody Nord Hodges.
Gina Bailey, Sarah Combs and Eric Bailey.