Who's winning the chef battle in Omaha?

Chef Will Burge of MealBox won the first round final of the Chef Battle taking place in Omaha on July 21.

070724-owh-new-battle-09.JPG (Copy) — Guests will choose ingredients from a glaze board during the Battle of the Chefs, which will be held at Long Walk Farm in Council Bluffs on July 7. The cooking competition will continue through the semifinals in August.

Liz Limarev, World-Herald

Burge, who provides weekly meal service to residential clients, was competing against Colin Duggan of the Kitchen Table, a downtown restaurant known for its menu featuring locally sourced ingredients.

Both were required to use beef and spicy mustard microgreens in their dishes.

For the appetizer, Burge will serve roasted garlic meatballs with marinated tomatoes and basil aioli, and for the main course, he will offer four seasonal beef dishes.

For appetizers, Duggan created beef innards dim sum and four different beef innards dishes, including liver and kidney sui mai with sweet fermented beets and pickled corn. The main course was five-spice ribeye, crispy chili ribs and gochugan soup.

Burge will face Corner Kitchen's Oscar Hernandez in the second round of the semifinals on Aug. 24. The first round of the semifinals will feature Drew Stutz of Semo Pasta + Wine in Fremont, Nebraska, facing off against Michelle Alfaro of Sauced by Alfaro in Papillion.

The semifinal winners will compete at Long Walk Farm near Council Bluffs on Sept. 8, which will be the venue for all competitions. Tickets for all remaining competitions are $150 and can be purchased at longwalkfarm.com.