Congratulations to Newman University President Noreen M. Carrocci, Ph.D., who with her teammate chef Jason Febres of Taste & See tied for first place in the 2014 Celebrity & Chef Cookoff.
Carrocci was among several local celebrities who teamed with local chefs in an “Iron Chef”-style culinary competition to benefit the Orpheum Theatre. The Carrocci-Febres team tied for the top spot with Sean Tarbell of Davis-Moore Auto Group and chef Adrian Prud Homme de Lodder of Bella Vita Bistro.
Orpheum President Jennifer Wright Allen said the event drew 470 people. While the final fundraising total is still being tallied, Wright said the Cookoff raised “in the ballpark of $100,000.” The 2014 event marked the 13th year the Orpheum has held the Celebrity & Chef Cookoff to raise funds for programming and to help restore the historic Orpheum Theatre.
“We were just thrilled to have Noreen as a participant,” Allen said. “We paired her with chef Jason Febres of Taste & See, who is something of a local celebrity himself, and they were great together. The event was a tremendous success.”
