Charro Steak’s Gary Hickey Wins Tucson Knife Fight 2017

Fundraising chef challenge Tucson Knife Fight finally crowned its champion last night after a 16-person bracket: Gary Hickey, executive chef at Charro Steak and culinary director for the Flores family of restaurants.

Hickey competed against The Parish’s Tim Marshall for the trophy. The culinary judges included HUB Restaurant & Ice Creamery chef Ben Caballero, Tucson Weekly food writer Mark Whittaker, Edible Baja Arizona’s Kate Selby, and Tucson Foodie founder Adam Lehrman.

“Tim definitely brought his A-game,” said judge Adam Lehrman. “He wouldn’t have been up there if he wasn’t wickedly talented. But Gary pulled out this Asian-inspired soup that I think wowed every judge.”

To learn more about Hickey, read Tools They Use: Charro Steak Executive Chef Gary Hickey.

Tucson Knife Fight pits local chefs against each other in a fun, friendly, Iron Chef-like bracket competition. This year was the first year for the Tucson competition, which took place late Monday nights, beginning in September at various establishments close to downtown, including Johnny Gibson’s, Pasco Kitchen, Charro Steak, and Ermanos.

Last night’s finale took place in the Martin Drug Co. courtyard.