Knife Fight: Sheldon Simeon vs. Lyndon Honda

Chef Lyndon Honda and Chef Sheldon Simeon getting ready for their #KnifeFight tilapia battle

It was expected to be an exciting and noteworthy duel… private chef, caterer and restaurant consultant Lyndon Honda taking on award-winning, “Top Chef” finalist/fan favorite Sheldon Simeon.

This Maui chef battle is affectionately called “Knife Fight,” with its inspiration coming from a similar cooking challenge on Bravo TV. Held once a month at 11 p.m. (so chefs and other culinarians can attend after work) at Cow Pig Bun, owner Greg Shepherd wanted to showcase the skills of the island’s local chefs and bring together the culinary community to raise money for culinary education. “More than anything I want to create an environment that is relevant, entertaining and sets the tone for the next generation of chefs,” he said.

This is how the Knife Fight works: one hour, one main ingredient, two chefs, three dishes. And here’s how it all went down using Napili Flo Farm fresh tilapia:

Course 1- Lyndon created a Latin-inspired, pan-fried tilapia topped with cheese. Sheldon created a sashimi-style dish accompanied with mint coconut milk.

Course 2: Lyndon prepared his take on a Korean fish soup with a side of kim chee tilapia. Sheldon created a delicate poached fish with butter sauce.

Here’s a quick time-lapse video of what the challenge looked like from my seat at the judge’s table. It was a packed house with almost 100 fans, spectators, chefs and others.

Expected to be the third and final course – Lyndon stepped up with pan-seared fish accompanied with fresh ice cream, while Sheldon created a simple seared fish with fresh rice and blossoms.

The scores were tabulated and for the first time since the November launch of Knife Fight, there was a tie. An additional beef course was added to ensure there would be a winner and the chefs were given 15 minutes to make their fourth dish.

Tie breaker – Lyndon made a meatball, bacon jam, tomato atop arugula. Sheldon created a take on the loco moco reconstructed.

Here’s how it ended.

Undoubtedly, Lyndon came into this challenge as the underdog and claimed the title in what has been deemed a major upset. In the end, the showdown raised more than $600 for the Maui Culinary Academy. The next #KnifeFight featuring two new chefs is scheduled for Feb. 21.