Florida Builder Appliances in association with The American Society of Interior Designers, South Florida Chapter (ASIDFSC) proudly presents the Platinum Chef Bonita Springs, sponsored by Whirlpool Corporation, Tuesday, July 27th, from 6-8pm.

Florida Builder Appliances, Florida’s largest distributor of prestige brand appliances, opens its 8,000-square-foot showroom to the Iron Chef. The state-of-the-art live kitchen will be transformed into “kitchen stadium” where the chefs will compete.

The Platinum Chef West Bonita Springs will mirror the popular network show, with two chefs battling in kitchen stadium to impress the judges with their assortment of dishes made from the secret ingredient, released to them just moments before the competition. They will have 60 minutes to test their culinary skills in front of a live audience. Then, they will be judged on taste, plating and originality, with a winner chosen by 3 esteemed judges. This exciting evening will be emceed by Shemeka Wilson of Whirlpool Corporation.

Competing in the Florida Builder Appliances Live Kitchen Stadium will be Chef Christopher Covelli, ABC 7 Sarasota and HSN TV personality, and Chef Carlos Avella, Chef de Cuisine of Cosimo’s Too! in Sarasota.

Chef Chistopher Covelli is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York City where he was trained by world-renowned chefs including Andre Soltner and Alain Saihac. His background, training and living experiences have enabled him to speak five languages and specialize in Classic French, Italian and Spanish cuisine as well as American Haute Cuisine. Chef Covelli’s cooking expertise earned him invitations as guest chef for four James Beard Foundation Dinners. Until recently, he was owner and chef at L’Uva Restaurant on Cape Cod, MA. Chef Covelli has earned five Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence among other numerous cooking awards. Currently Chef Covelli is the senior chef instructor at Toscana Saporita Cooking School in Lucca, Italy. He serves on the International Advisory Board for Florida Wine Fest. He has been featured in numerous publications and currently writes a monthly cooking article for Living Out East and on the Bay magazine. Chef Covelli is a local TV chef personality on ABC 7 in Sarasota and the Home Shopping Network.

Chef Carlos Avella, born in Bogota, Colombia in 1986 relocated to Miami, Florida in 1996 where his grandmother became a well known Colombian food chef by managing several authentic Colombian food restaurants like the famous Rinconcito Paisa. Avella began his culinary career at the age of 14 as a food prep and dishwasher at Rinconcito Paisa. In 1999 at the age of sixteen worked as a Food Prep for Gustavo Chavez current Executive Chef of the famous national show Despierta America on Univision, and also Quality Control Executive Chef for a new line of tex-mex frozen food. At the age of 17 attended Sarasota County Technical Institute and enrolled in the culinary arts program where he became a member of the American Culinary Federation. While in Sarasota, Avella has worked under Executive Chef Erick Lacko,  and also at Morton’s Gourmet Market as a Pastry Assistant, and as Sous Chef at Palmer Ranch Healthcare and Rehab for 5 years. Avella is currently Chef de Cuisine at one of Sarasota’s finest trattoria style restaurant Cosimos Too where he has worked next to 2 time culinary gold medal winner Executive Chef Shane Dabney, Avella has been a guest chef at the Florida Wine Fest 2009 and 2010, worked alongside competitor, Chef Christopher Covelli, and has also appeared on the Sarasota ABC 7 local news doing cooking segments.

Guests will be able to preview the latest exclusive appliances on the market today and speak with participating vendor representatives from KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Whirlpool & Maytag. The evening will conclude with a silent auction for luxury home furnishings donated from ASID designers and their showrooms.

Tickets are $30 per person. All proceeds from this event will go to benefit The American Society of Interior Designers, South Florida Chapter.

For more information on The American Society of Interior Designers, please contact Jeffrey Gillis at: 954.926.7555

For more information on Florida Builder Appliances, please contact Staci Ziccardi, Marketing Manager at 954.956.7051 ext. 234

To RSVP to attend this event, please contact Jeffrey Gillis at: 954.926.7555.