Tofu Takedown | Highline Ballroom

Jui Shih serves her Tofu (I Scream) Ice Cream

Chili Takedown. Bacon Takedown. Tofu Takedown? One of these things is not like the other. After a hugely successful Bacon Takedown in April—lines were down the block before the doors even opened—Matt Timms, the man behind the Takedown series, has repented with a heart-healthy tofu smackdown that took place at the Highline Ballroom on Sunday, May 10.

Seventeen cooks whipped up their finest bean-curd creations. Could it be that tofu really is, as Matt insists, "nature's bacon"? Apparently so, judging from this hard-fought Tofu Takedown. Entries included a tofu S'more parfait, Mr. T(ofu)iramisu and green tea creme brulee, and judges included blogger-chef-cook-off veteran Cathy Erway and Hapa Kitchen co-founder Akiko Moorman.

The night's winner, however, pulled a double whammy by snagging both the people's choice award (as voted by the attendees) and the judges' award: Sara Morrisson, for her Ethiopian empanadas.

Photos by Joey Shemuel