This year’s Capital Food Fight was our best yet! Thanks to the support of this year’s presenting sponsor Tyson Foods, the 77 restaurants that served delectable bites all night, our celebrity hosts and judges and the 1,300 guests who joined us at The Anthem, we raised more than $900,000 for DC Central Kitchen’s hunger-fighting and job training programs!
Congratulations to Chef Julie Cortes from Kayu who took home the coveted Capital Food Fight belt with popular Filipino dish, laing, which featured crabmeat simmered in coconut milk and B&W’s Power4 Mix of cress, red leaf kale, baby spinach, and arugula.
Julie’s fight alongside her Sous Chef Jaerron Felipe wasn’t easy, she had to duel fellow round 1 winner Chef Dina Daniel of Fava Pot and esteemed Chef Suresh Sundas of Tapori. Chef Matthew Price from Fraiche also brought his A-game as part of an especially memorable and talented line-up of battling chefs!
Between battles, we recognized a 2024 graduate of our Culinary Job Training program and current DC Central Kitchen Lead School Foods Worker, Natalie Webb, who is the 2025 Marianne Ali North Star Scholarship Award recipient in recognition of her professional growth. We also released an all-new video illustrating the impact our work is having since the opening of the Klein Center two-and-a-half years ago.
Special thanks go out to a number of #HungerFighters including:
Our outstanding sponsors, including our Presenting Tyson Foods; Showcase Sponsors CoBank, Instacart, and the Lineage Foundation for Good; our Pantry Sponsor Wegmans, along with Secret Ingredient Sponsors Aussie Beef & Lamb, B&W, and Keany Produce, Executive Chef Sponsors such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, DoorDash, and Elevance Health, our Media Sponsor Vox Media Eater; and so many more
We wouldn’t be able to pull off the spectacular stage show without the generous support of The Webster Group, AVLD Events, Relish Catering, ABW, and The Anthem. Not to mention our talented hosts Tommy McFly and Spike Mendelsohn, and our amazing panel of celebrity judges including Eric Adjepong, Rocco DiSpirito, Amanda Freitag, Roy Yamaguchi, and Ryan Zimmerman.
And of course, thank you to our incredible restaurant partners (full list below!) who showcased their talents with the best culinary offerings.
Mark your calendar for Thursday, November 12, 2026, when we get to do it all again! In the meantime, we hope you’ll support our dozens of participating restaurants, all of which are eager to welcome you, and are listed out below for easy reference! And we invite you to come see us at the Klein Center for a volunteer shift or when you grab a bite at one of our social enterprise cafes.
2025 Capital Food Fight Participating Restaurants and Brands
a.kitchen+bar DC
Almaitan Tequila
Arrels
AUI Fine Foods
Aussie Beef & Lamb
Barker Espresso
The Bazaar by Jose Andres
Ben’s Chili Bowl
Bidwell
Captain Cookie and the Milkman
Capitano
Carmine’s DC
Chicatana DC
Cowbell Seafood & Oyster
Cuisine Solutions
DCCK Cafes
DCCK Healthy Corners
DCCK Healthy School Food
Dirty Habit
Donisma Donuts by Chef Miguel Guerra
Dos Toros
Dreaming Out Loud Inc.
the duck and the peach
EcoCaters
El Mercat Bar de Tapas
El Presidente
El Techo
Estuary
Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants
Fava Pot
Fish Shop
Fraiche
Hen Quarter Prime
Jaleo by Jose Andres
Just Ice Tea
Kayu
King Street Oyster Bar
Kyojin Sushi
Lazy Mike’s Delicatessen
Lobby Bar
Lucky Danger
Mallard
Marcus DC
MeatCrafters
Mecha Noodle Bar
Miller Farms
Moonraker
Nando’s Peri Peri
Nestle Professional Solutions
Oak Ridge Winery
Ocean Prime
Osteria Mozza
Paraiso
Paste & Rind
Pastis
Pink Tiger
Pisco y Nazca
The Point
RASA
The Red Hen
Rimtang
Roaming Rooster
Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company
Santa Lucia Coffee
Santa Rose Taqueria
SeaChef Dockside Kitchen
SEVEN Restaurant
Tapori
Taqueria Xochi
Tiki TNT
Tip Top Canned Cocktaols
Topo Chico
Vagabond Bar & Kitchen
Wegmans Food Market
Willowsong DC
Wonder
Yala Greek Ice Cream