COOK’s Open Stove prides itself on being a stage for Philly’s as-yet-untested kitchen talent, but once in awhile the crew likes to throw some proven winners into the mix to see what the heck’s going to happen. They’ve achieved this in the past by pitting executive chefs against each other in an unpredictable battle usually reserved for sous chefs and line cooks. For the 14th installment in the series, however, COOK tapped two reigning Open Stove champions — Zahav‘s Yehuda Sichel (above, left) and Sola BYOB‘s Steve Stryjewski — to see who’d get the better of their fellow victor.

Sichel first participated in Open Stove a year back, winning the third installment in the series over Lacroix‘s Adam Lazarick. Stryjewski’s W, meanwhile, was slightly more recent — this past September, he successfully beat his older brother Val, head chef at a.kitchen, in the only OS to date to feature siblings. Both dudes could legitimately yell “THE CHAMP IS HERE,” Ali-style, upon entering the building — but only one could walk out screaming the same thing.

In addition to being the first Open Stove to bring back past winners, XIV also marked the first time they chefs have tacked on an extra course. In addition to the usual amuse bouche –> appetizer –> entrée –> dessert format (app and main made with a top-secret challenge ingredient), both Sichel and Stryjewski requested a introductory bread course to get the crowd started. Not a bad way to literally butter up the crowd, who votes for the winning chef at the end of the night, right? Sichel repped his restaurant well, presenting a flatbread with creamy truffled Turkish hummus and fresh chickpeas. Stryjewski showed off his baking prowess with kalamata olive-studded pretzel bites served with a smear of pesto made with pickled ramps and gruyere cheese.

The amuse bouche course at Open Stove is always a telling introduction to each competitor’s style, as they can throw it down without the influence of any crazy COOK curveballs. (Same goes for dessert, which they’re allowed to pre-plan.) Sichel brought it with a smoked boneless chermoula-glazed chicken wing complete with a kashkaval cheese-based version of ranch dressing (!). Stryjewski’s amuse (above): a very creative “Pittsburgh tartare,” with burnt mirepoix mimicking the blackened exterior of a Pitt-style steak and the raw red meat aping the inside. He piled it all on top of a blue cheese croquette, which you should basically do for every food.

Soon, it was time for appetizers, which meant the introduction of the first secret ingredient: lychee! This bouncy ball-sized tree fruit is commonly used in candies, smoothies and the like, but the COOKettes presented them to the chefs whole and skin-on in bunches, presenting quite the prep challenge. Sichel’s sous chef, fellow Zahavian Dean “Chef Boyar-Dean” Hildebrand, remembered eating sweet, fleshy lychee during his childhood in South Africa, so he made quick work breaking those suckers down. Stryjewski’s sous, Pub & Kitchen cook Sam Kane (also his ladyfriend, aw chef love!), did the same …

… producing these two lychee-fied beauts. Sichel did a grilled phyllo-wrapped Alaskan halibut served with royal trumpet mushrooms cooked a la plancha, pea leaf/lychee salad and a sauce made with peas and labneh, strained Cypriot yogurt. Stryjewski’s plate: grilled lychees accompanying slow-cooked green beans and a single seared scallop.

Come entree time, neither chef had any idea what to expect as far as secret ingredients. They were hit with one surprise — Thai curry paste — then immediately with another once the COOK staff asked the crowd to check under their seats, Oprah-style, for a neon Post-It note. The six lucky diners who found them were given a special task: picking out random (truly random) ingredients from a grab basket to assign to each chef. What’d they end up with? Sichel pulled pickled peppercorns, powdered horseradish and Flying Fish Exit 4, a Belgian-style tripel. Stryjewski was gifted Guinness, matcha-flavored Pocky and canned mangosteen, another distinct Asian fruit. Each chef was given a small window of time to work the Thai curry, plus the three ingredients, into their main course.

Each team immediately began scrambling to get their game going. Stryjewski, in particular, was on fire, flaming up high-octane Bacardi 151 and thankfully not setting off the sprinkler system.

Sichel also did a new job of not burning COOK down while searing his 60-day dry-aged Creekstone ribeyes, marinated in onion, parsley and garlic. Good job, guys!

Here’s the final result of all those fireworks. At left, Sichel’s Thai curry-glazed steak, plated over veg and fresh baba ghanoush incorporating his peppercorns, beer and horseradish. Stryjewski went a piggier route, serving Berkshire pork loin with farro, fiddlehead ferns, tangy mangosteen/Guinness/151 sauce and a funny, funky crush-up of the green tea-flavored Pocky with his own dehydrated bacon powder.

Post-entree at Open Stove is always a time for hardcore 25th-hour campaigning, through both sweet and blatant booze bribery. As Stryjewski plied the crowd on his side of the kitchen with shots, he plated up his conceptual “peanut butter-jelly-thyme” dessert, a hazelnut butter and jelly gateau accompanied by a foie gras-filled bon-bon and a quenelle of Manischewitz/thyme sorbet (a playful knock at Sichel’s kosher cooking experience, he explained). Sichel went simpler with his meal ender, a ma’amoul (semolina shortbread cookie) crust filled with vanilla/banana custard and topped with a vibrant strawberry sorbet.

After all the votes were tallied, the win went to Sichel in a nail-biter. The chefs’ side bet, a nice bottle of bubbly, was delivered by Stryjewski with pure class (can’t you tell, with the fancy Derby Day white blazer and all?). Will Sichel, now the only undefeated 2-0 contestant in Open Stove history, have to defend his championship belt against a future challenger? We shall see. Until then, let’s look forward to July’s battle, a clash of not-so-regular Joes — namely Cicala of Le Virtu and Baldino of Zeppoli. Tune in next month, kids: same Open Stove time, same Open Stove channel. For previous coverage, check out the Open Stove tags here and on Tumblr.

All Photos: Yoni Nimrod