WFC Addresses 2020 Competition Format Changes

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Posted Jan 27, 2020

WFC Addresses 2020 Competition Format Changes

From new event dates to a change in venue to a “soup”-er category addition, the World Food Championships (WFC) kicked off the new year with “BIG” announcements as it prepares for its 2020 tournament in Dallas, Texas. Throughout January, the leader in Food Sport released a series of event updates about the competition and key formatting changes that will go into effect for its 9th annual competition, which will occur Nov. 6-10th.

This larger-than-life culinary event has set many goals for enhancing the sporting component in “Food Sport,” including going INDOORS and creating a stage centrally located in the heart of Kitchen Arena. WFC’s “Kitchen Arena Central” will feature sponsor and competitor interviews, one-of-a-kind demos and competition updates. Additionally, in place of WFC’s traditional nightly award ceremony, the event will reveal live results at Kitchen Arena Central shortly after each round concludes.

“For this year’s event, we are strategically adjusting our program to make it easier for our competitors to compete, enjoy and see their results — while also giving foodies more of an interactive experience with what we call Food Sport,” explained WFC’s President and CEO, Mike McCloud. “By incorporating awards into our daily schedule, it gives our competitors more time to prepare for the next round of the competition and enjoy Dallas’ attractions in the evenings. This will also give food fans an opportunity to become more invested in the competition because they can follow their favorites from start to award finales as each day unfolds.”

Also new for 2020, WFC will be adjusting its turn-in process by introducing a finish line strategy. While the competition will continue to utilize the turn-in table and countdown clock, a competitor’s turn-in completion will now be determined by when he or she crosses the finish line.

“The drama in Kitchen Arena when the turn-in window opens is one of the most exciting moments in Food Sport,” said McCloud. “We aim to highlight this thrilling and adrenaline-rush of activity, but now we are going to create an “end-zone” type of area that will bring a little more order to the chaos that occurs in those last seconds.”

To add another level of theatrics to the tournament, WFC will be incorporating kitchen-wide stage lighting that will change colors to coordinate with the amount of time left on the countdown clock. For example, neon lighting will flash green at the start of the turn-in window, yellow at the two-minute mark, and then ultimately red when the window is closed. This new feature will create more awareness for when Food Champs need to pick up the pace, begin plating or start moving toward the finish line. Not to mention, the light display will amp up the excitement for food fans cheering on the cooks from the sidelines.

Lastly, WFC will no longer host after-hour ticketed events as in year’s past. Instead, all special events and attractions will now take place during WFC’s daily programming. This shift will give attendees more Food Sport action consistently throughout the day while also allowing competitors to take the night off in order to recover from the competition or visit their favorite restaurants in Dallas.

“Our special events have always been a fun and creative way for foodies to get involved in Food Sport,” said McCloud. “Moving these programs up to occur during the competition times will add more energy to the arena and allow competitors to enjoy a full day of competition and celebration moments.”

More announcements about WFC 2020 will be revealed throughout the coming months. In the meantime, follow the World Food Championships on Twitter (@WorldFoodChamp), Facebook and Instagram (@WorldFoodChampionships) for more Food Sport updates.

About the World Food Championships

The World Food Championships (WFC) is the highest stakes food competition in the world. This multi-day, live-event culinary competition showcases some of the world's best cooking masters competing for food, fame and fortune in ten categories. In 2019, more than 450 culinary teams from 11 countries and 42 American states competed in WFC’s Main Event. The Ten Category champs crowned will now face-off in the $100,000 challenge that will determine the overall World Food Champion at The Final Table: Indianapolis in May 2020

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WFC Addresses 2020 Competition Format Changes

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