The snowy January afternoon of January 17 was no match for the warmth exuded by Chefs Behind Bars, an event with a straightforward mission: help end childhood hunger. Guests gathered at Prequel, the restaurant incubator downtown, which hosted the event in its two-level, industrial-cool bar/lounge space.

The conceit: unique and playful. Seven celebrated area chefs are taken out of their element (the kitchen) and sent to work with ingredients of the liquid kind – behind a bar, of course. Each crafts an original cocktail in attempt to beat out the other six, later crowned champion of this annual chef-cum-mixologist-for-a-day competition.

The chefs featured: Matt Baker (Gravitas), Jen Carroll (Requin by Mike Isabella Group), James Martin (District Supper), John Critchley (Brine), Hamilton Johnson (Honeysuckle), Liam LaCivita (Bar Civita), and Yuki Nakandakari (Ocopa). To make sure everyone was well taken care of, servers kindly paraded the room with chicken biscuit sandwiches and bacon-jam crostini. The nibbles were courtesy of Prequel’s current popup, the Southern-inspired restaurant Honeysuckle.

Given that each cocktail is so expertly, one might say painstakingly, put together, choosing a winner might be an unenviable task. Luckily, the judge’s panel was made up of DC food celebs, so your author was not included.

When it comes to drinks, interactivity is key. The winner in that department: Brine, which managed to truck in an ice luge to channel for its super-cool gin-based drink. Imbibing like this is a slippery slope. The yin to this chilly yang was led by Jen Carroll, the lone female chef among this impressive cadre. She brought us wine cask-aged rum set off with passion fruit tea – and a cinnamon stick lit afire. And when there’s fire, there’s smoke, no? James Martin mixed mescal with herb ash foam to produce a frothy masterpiece, and Hamilton Johnson, whose food also graced the space, made a drink using Maker’s, blood orange liqueur, and smoked tobacco. Thankfully, no call to DCFD was necessary. There was also a ton of local love. Matt Baker partnered with brand-spanking-new local distiller One Eight Distilling, using its District Vodka over charred pineapple syrup and Thai basil essence. At the end of the event, the Judge’s Choice Award went to John Critchley, of aforementioned ice-luge fame. Not unlikely that this was the first time an alcoholic ice luge helped end childhood hunger.

DC’s Taste of the Nation event hosted Chefs Behind Bars as a sneak peek for the huge charity Taste of the Nation 2016 event, to take place on April 4. All proceeds from the tickets support No Kid Hungry, which works to end childhood hunger by supplying healthy breakfasts and lunches.

-ESC (Evan)