TORONTO — Last night, amid the first true winter storm of the season, Toronto’s culinary community gathered for the Stop for Food Chef Challenge at C5 restaurant inside the Royal Ontario Museum.

Among the worthy combatants in the modern, open kitchen were Jamie Kennedy, The Roosevelt Room’s Anthony Davis and Amuse-Bouche’s Jason Inniss, who comprised a team that faced off in an Iron Chef-style battle against C5’s Ted Corrado, Torito’s Luis Valenzuela, Amuse-Bouche’s Bertrand Alépée and The Stop’s Chris Brown. Iron Chef America’s own Kevin Brauch emceed the event.

The chefs’ challenge was staged as a lead-in to Stop for Food, a month-long culinary celebration that raises money for The Stop Community Food Centre. On March 1, some of Toronto’s best restaurants will join forces once more, offering special prix-fixe menus (for $35 or $50 per person), with $5 or $10 being donated to The Stop for each meal. The menus will feature exclusively Ontario-grown ingredients.

Participating restaurants include: 7 Numbers, Amaya the Indian Room, Amaya’s Bread Bar, Amuse-Bouche Restaurant, Blacktree Restaurant, C5, Cowbell, Frank, Frida, Gilead Bistro, Hank’s, Marben, Niagara Street Café, Pangaea, Reds Bistro and Wine Bar, Roosevelt Room, Table 17, The Drake Hotel, The Harbord Room, The Wine Bar, Torito Tapas Bar, Trevor Kitchen and Bar, Universal Grill, Veritas Local Fare, Vertical Restaurant, Via Allegro Ristorante and Zucca Trattoria.

The Stop — a non-profit anti-poverty organization in the city’s west end — works to increase access to food in a manner that maintains dignity, builds health and community and challenges inequality.

The annual event is spearheaded by Toronto’s Cross Town Kitchens, a group of young chefs dedicated to raising awareness about issues that affect food in the city and surrounding areas. Cross Town Kitchens is comprised of the chefs from Amuse-Bouche Restaurant (Bertrand Alépée, Jason Inniss and Sarah Lyons), C5 (Ted Corrado), The Stop (Chris Brown) and Torito Tapas Bar (Luis Valenzuela).