Local Shreveport Chef Wins $5,000 at Golden Fork Showdown

Shreveport foodies, you can finally breathe a sigh of relief! We’ve been holding our breath, impatiently waiting for the ultimate showdown: the Battle for the Golden Fork. Remember how the 2025 event was dramatically postponed? Well, the wait is officially over, and the high-stakes culinary drama delivered everything we hoped for.

The Prize Foundation announced that Dylan Teekell has officially been crowned the 2025 Golden Fork Champion! This highly anticipated culinary showdown capped off this year’s Food Prize competition at Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC).

Teekell faced off against two incredible finalists in a tense, Chopped-style mystery basket cookoff. The ingredients were seriously challenging—think sushi-grade tuna, pistachios, and sweet potatoes all in one basket! But Teekell absolutely crushed it.

He blew away the Celebrity Chef Judges, Regina Charboneau and Mike Stites, with a dazzling crudo tuna dish served over perfectly wilted asparagus. The judges couldn't stop raving about the winning dish's bold flavor and sheer creativity.

Beyond the coveted title, Teekell walked away with a cool $5,000 and the ultimate local brag-rights that only the Food Prize championship can deliver. And get this: this isn't his first rodeo! Teekell is a two-time champion, having taken the Golden Fork back in 2023.

“What an incredible night of culinary magic,” said Gregory Kallenberg, Executive Director of the Prize Foundation. “The Food Prize Golden Fork proves just how spectacular our culinary scene is here in the Shreveport/Bossier area. Truly a spectacular event!”

The competition’s lineup featured three phenomenal local chefs—Jasmine Cherry (The Noble Savage) and Chelsea Girard (Heron/Mae & Company), who battled their way to the finals during Prize Fest’s Come & Get It event. This live cookoff was the grand finale of the 2025 Food Prize season, and what an unforgettable night of competition and community celebration it was.