Some of Fayetteville's favorite chefs are coming together for a live event planned to entertain and delight the eyes and the taste buds. 

Join Fayetteville’s very own “Chopped” alum Chef Judy McLean, owner of Let me Cater to You and Uptown’s Chicken and Waffles, Chef Peggy Walker, owner of AnnieGirls and Fayetteville raised, Charlotte based Chef Vivian Jackson, owner of Aunt Viv’s Kitchen, for “Chopping It Up with Chef Judy.” 

This event will take place on Aug. 17, 2024 at 3 p.m. at the Crown Complex and will be an entertaining and informative event set in a more relaxed atmosphere. 

“This will not be a competition, we're all about collaborating here. We just want to have fun with the community. We want them to get to know a little bit about more than just cooking. So this is their opportunity to ask a question or just hang out with us,” shared Chef Judy. “We're pretty cool. And so, this is an opportunity for us to be able to not only share some cooking techniques or for some of the guests to sample some of our delicious servings, but more so about  bringing the community together.” 

Featuring a live cooking demonstration, live Q&A panel and entertaining moments sure to please, this will be the second event hosted by Chef Judy and Chef Peggy, following a successful “Galentine’s Day” event hosted earlier this year. 

“We had a good time. We came together, we did brunch and we just talked about everything and it was such a monumental moment. At the end of the event, we realized that it was way more than food,It was just a fellowship, it was the energy in the room,” shared Chef Peggy regarding their Galentine’s Day event. “When I tell you we had such a good time. It was a sold out event, a lot of people are still asking us like ‘When are you guys doing that again?’ And so that definitely put the nail in the coffin for the foundation of Chef Judy and I's relationship because we worked so well together and we just vibe together.” 

One of the most anticipated activities this weekend for all three hosts is the live Q&A session planned. This will feature a few prepared questions from the chefs along with questions from the audience. 

“I always look forward to meeting new people and discussing new things. I'm looking forward to just being on the panel with Chef duty and Chef Viv, having a good time. I'm  looking forward to the memories we create from this event,” shared Chef Peggy. 

“I'm just looking forward to having a good time with the girls for real,” shared Chef Vivian. “We all can win together. Even though everybody has their own thing going on, we all help each other. We all want to see each other do well. And I feel like overall, that should be an amazing takeaway that no matter how dynamic you are on your own, that you're even better together and still winning together.” 

“Saturday's event is really about the people. So we want to interact on a different level than just business,” shared Chef Judy. “I want to be able to connect with the folks that are coming out just to hang out with us for a little bit. We just want it to be a fun event.” 

The event will also mark the official launch of a new business from Chef Judy called “Lorraine’s Home Essentials.” 

“It's a new business that I'm starting. And I'm super, super excited about this,” shared Chef Judy. “Lorraine is actually my middle name. It  was also my mom's middle name and my mom is no longer here with us. So this is a small way of me paying homage to my mom. I'm going be introducing a chef's knife, a wooden cutting board and some other things and that's gonna launch next month, but I just want to introduce it this coming weekend so that they can get ready for it.” 

Admission to the event is free for the public and open to all audiences. 

Audience RSVPs are now open to the public and can be done online here.