Hudson Table Brooklyn Chef Competition: An Honest Review

What Is the Hudson Table Chef Competition?

Eager for something out of the ordinary, I signed my mom and me up for Hudson Table’s Brunch Chef Competition in Brooklyn, New York. The concept is simple: a group of guests would judge competing chefs on multi-course creations built from mystery ingredients. Two competing chefs, each paired with a sous chef, had timed segments to produce a three-course meal. At the end, the judges voted for a winner, no ties were allowed. Our chefs for the day were Chef Fatima working with Sous Chef Erik, versus Chef Mike and Sous Chef Santi. Our host joked that we’d be witnessing a battle between David and Goliath, but promised not to tell us who was which.

Inside Hudson Table Williamsburg: The Setup

The Hudson Table competition is held at a retail kitchen and restaurant in Williamsburg Brooklyn. Upon entering you’ll find an open air kitchen outfitted with stoves, ovens, and refrigerators. The bar seats line the perimeter of the kitchen, with a second row of tables filling the rest of the space. Once seated, we were offered sourdough bread with a shredded garlic and butter spread and a self-serve station for tea, coffee, and water. Additional drinks and cocktails were available for purchase through our hosts, who doubled as waiters throughout the experience.

How the Competition Works: Round by Round

Once everyone was seated and briefed, the competition kicked off on a countdown. Immediately, I watched Chef Fatima and Mike chopping and peeling their sweet potatoes. Throughout the experience, we were encouraged to engage the chefs directly, asking them questions or requesting samples during their prep. Looking back, I noticed that both the head and sous chefs used the first segment to set up dishes that needed extra time running in parallel to the appetizers.

For example, while Chef Fatima worked on the base for her team’s appetizer, Sous Chef Erik began preparing their dessert in the oven. Similarly, Chef Mike was peeling sweet potatoes for his soup appetizer while Sous Chef Santi began the cream base for their yogurt dessert. During this time, Chef Mike was confidently taking questions from the other judges about what he was making and how he envisioned the ingredients coming together. 

The entire experience was thrilling. As the clock crept towards ten minutes, then five, you couldn’t help but notice which team was further along in their prep and plating. In the first round, Chef Mike and Santi finished with time to spare while Chef Fatima and Erik ran a few minutes over.

Round 1 – Appetizers: Scores & Standouts

For appetizers, Chef Mike and Santi presented a complex, mouthwatering soup: pink lady apple and sweet potato curry soup with breakfast sausage, coconut milk, garlic, cardamom oil, and green onions. Recounting my first sip brings me back instantly. The curry was subtle but delicious, offering a savory, comforting warmth. The shredded apple and sausage settled at the bottom of the bowl were a pleasant sweet-and-salt surprise. I found myself smiling as I kept drinking. Minutes later, Chef Fatima presented her dish: a crispy sweet potato and bagel chip base topped with smoked trout and watercress salad. The sweetness of the sweet potato coupled with the smoky flavor of the trout was unexpected, but as I bit into the dish more I enjoyed it. My only hesitation was that the smoked trout portion felt slightly overwhelming in both texture and volume.

Round 2 – Entrées: Where It Got Interesting

Since Chef Mike finished his appetizer with time to spare, his team got a head start on their entree. He immediately began blending a red mixture. I tried to guess what each team was making, but it’s nearly impossible since the chefs are encouraged to be as creative as they want, which makes predicting the next course a challenge. Fortunately, we could walk over and ask. At the six-minute mark, Chef Santi started plating a cylinder-shaped mixture that looked like beans and pasta. Feeling a little anxious, I drifted over to Chef Fatima’s station, where she was pan-searing thin flat breads while Chef Erik worked on a sugar mixture. I was nervous about their team running over again and  genuinely wished I could jump in and help them, but all we could do was watch. Once the timer dropped below three minutes, the chefs moved fast, weaving between the kitchen and the plating station with hot pans in hand. 

For the entrée, Chef Mike and Santi presented smoked trout mousse with multi-grain salad packed with quinoa, bulgur, lentils, manicotti pasta, black beans, and chia seeds, finished with a tomato vinaigrette and watercress tossed in everything bagel spice.

Chef Fatima presented a Colombian arepa dusted with sun-dried tomato powder. The base was a crispy rice paper topped with salsa verde jalapeño and stir-fried breakfast sausage.

Round 3 – Desserts: The Home Run

Dessert ended up being my favorite part of the experience which surprised me. At that point, Chef Mike’s soup still had a firm hold on my memory, and I was still savoring the flavors of Chef Fatima’s breakfast sausage arepa. Admittedly, I wish I could have more of everything we had so far, but this was due to my gluttony rather than actual hunger. Throughout the competition, we conversed with the other guest judges, placing bets on who we thought would win so far, what our favorite dishes were, and how we were enjoying the experience so far. Some guests were celebrating a birthday or anniversary, others were tourists visiting the city for the weekend, and others were looking for a fun activity to do during the cold weather.

For the first time, Chef Fatima and Erik finished first. I was already excited just looking at the plate. Their final dish was a vanilla cake with a sweet potato mousse and a coconut brittle crumble on top. 

Chef Mike and Santi’s final dish was a white chocolate yogurt layered with black current and blackberry, topped with a marsala whip, bagel chips, walnuts, buttermilk, and a sucrée cookie. 

Final Scores & The Winning Chef

At the end, each guest judge tallied their scores and announced their winner along with a brief explanation. An overwhelming number of guest judges circled back to Chef Mike’s soup from round one. You could tell it stuck with everyone and I couldn’t disagree. That said, Chef Fatima’s Vanilla cake had won me over completely, the flavor paired with the crunch of the coconut brittle was perfect. Still, when I tallied everything up, my decision was clear: Chef Mike and Santi were the winners. 

Is Hudson Table Brooklyn Worth It?

My only regret is not signing up for the Hudson Table Chef Competition sooner. There’s something genuinely exciting about being let into the kitchen action which normally stays hidden when dining out. Watching each chef hold their composure under pressure, and watching how they coordinate with their sous chefs to pull off a finished plate is something you won’t get at most places. 

If  there’s one lesson I took home, it’s that first impressions really do make the best impression. They create a lasting impact that, when paired with a strong finish, makes for something memorable from start to finish.

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