Mesa Community College hosts the Hunger Awareness Food Box competition, an annual competition incorporating local restaurants.
In this competition, chefs from participating restaurants cook up meals for the competition judges. The catch is they don’t know what they will be cooking until the competition starts. Using their skills, participants attempt to make the most creative and savory dishes with the ingredients they are given.
“It was a real treat to participate in a competition in this format,” said Craig Arstingstall, co-owner of What’s Crackin’ Café. “It totally takes you out of your comfort zone. I spent all night thinking about what kind of food they would supply and what I would make.”
With participants including Mesa staples Red, White and Brew, Nando’s, Vito’s Pizza and Italian Ristorante and Echo 5, Craig knew he had is work cut out for him.
“When I saw who my competition was, I was invigorated because these are some of the restaurants I have frequented for years,” Craig admitted.
After the competition, winners were announced. Vito’s Pizza and Italian Ristorante came in third, Nando’s was second, and What’s Crackin’ Café took first place.
“I knew we would be tough to beat,” Craig stated. “I thought I had a good idea of what I was going to make the second the food was revealed.“
Craig and What’s Crackin’ Café co-owner John Wilcoxon had a good reason to enter the Food Box competition. “We decided to participate in this competition because we wanted to get our name out there, and I wanted to show people what we are all about,” Craig said. “Most importantly, we wanted to bring awareness to the hunger epidemic in our community and the world.”
The menu at What’s Crackin’ Café is varied, to say the least. “Our menu has no boundaries,” Craig stated with pride. “We have Italian dishes, Thai dishes, Canadian dishes and Southwestern dishes. We experiment with so many different cuisines to mix it up for our guests.”
What’s Crackin’ Café is a locally owned restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, while incorporating American, Southwestern and International cuisines. All dishes are made from locally sourced produce, dairy and meat.
What’s Crackin’ Café is located at 6663 E. McDowell Road, Suite 101. For more information, visit whatscrackincafe.com, or call (480) 264-6832.