Meet our 2026 panel of judges!

 

Darian Bryan

Founder/Owner,
Chef Darian Bryan

Hailing from Jamaica, Chef Darian brings the heat to Buffalo, NY and everything he serves. Featured in many media outlets including the Food Network, CBS News, ESPN, The Jamaican Observer, The Gleaner, and TVJ, he inspires appetites around the world. From fine dining pop-ups to private dining experiences, and from meal prep for professional athletes to the long line–worthy events for his Jamaican-inspired “Jerk Hut,” extra is always on the menu—whether you’re talking his signature fedoras and chef jackets or the colossal surf and turf he’s known for. Chef Darian’s core beliefs that chefs are rock stars and that food should make people happy inspire his commitment to representing his home country to the fullest, merging fine dining with Caribbean flavor—and, now, showing us all how easy (and delicious) it can be to bring plant-based taste to your menu.

Jack & Levi Zhang

Social media sensations and cookbook authors,
Cooking for Levi

Jack and Levi are the father and son cooking duo behind @cookingforlevi. They’ve made hundreds of different dishes together and shared them online to inspire families to cook together more and bring quality bonding time back to the kitchen.

Jack started his culinary career 12 years ago as a prep cook and worked his way up through the ranks over a decade in different professional kitchens and eventually took on sous chef and head chef positions.

Three years ago, Jack started making videos with his then two-year-old son, Levi, hoping to share his passion for food and cooking with him. Levi became an instant star with his genuine and adorable reactions to the variety of delicious dishes that Jack prepared for him. Before long, Levi started helping out in the kitchen as well and their videos now inspire millions of people around the world to start cooking with their children.

Jack and his wife, Emmy, are currently preparing for the release of their new cookbook “Weeknight Winners, Family Dinners: Raise Curious Eaters with Kid-Approved, Adult-Loved Recipes.”

Daniela Kayser

Owner,
daniela.

Daniela Kayser is the head chef and owner of Daniela restaurant in Buffalo, NY. Her introduction to the culinary world came from her mother, an immigrant from Calabria, Italy, who exposed her to authentic recipes and farm-to-table ingredients.

Early on in life, Daniela began working at her sister’s restaurant, where she developed a knack for hosting and catering while continuing her own culinary journey. She was then inspired to open her private catering business, extending her expertise into craft services, food design, and catering within the entertainment industry. Through the success and networking of her catering business, she launched her own kitchen and restaurant, appropriately named Daniela.

It was her sister, who lives in Italy, who provided the idea to bring Pinsa Romana—a Roman-style pizza—to Buffalo. Determined to craft delicious food rich with Italian heritage, Daniela and her staff received official training to create Pinsa Romana in 2019. They became the first official pinseria in Western New York and recently celebrated their seventh anniversary. Today, they continue to bring innovative and authentic Calabrian dishes to the Buffalo community.

WEST SIDE CHOPS IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY:

Executive Chef Sponsor

Saucier Sponsors

Pâtissier Sponsor

With additional support from: