Five local chefs will sharpen their knives for battle as the City Food Festival gets under way at Fort Hamilton tonight.

Antonio Belvedere, Elizabeth Blankendal, Mohamed Elfeky, Ebrahim Elassal, and Marcella Smith will take part in the event in an attempt to win a trip to the South Beach Food Festival in Miami next year. Mr Belvedere has worked in local restaurants and is now excited to be starting his own private chef business.

Ms Blankendal is self-taught and became fascinated by international cuisine at an early age as she grew up in a multicultural household.

She enjoys cooking with a range of ingredients to make elegant, tasty and attractive dishes.

Mr Elfeky and Mr Elassal are both from Egypt and chefs at the Fairmont Southampton.

Ms Smith is a mother of three and the head chef at St David’s Seafood and Grill at St David’s Cricket Club.

Round One will have three of the competitors going head-to-head in an appetiser round tonight.

It was originally planned to be held at Pier Six, but the venue has been changed because of the scheduled arrival of a cruise ship.

Tomorrow, the other two will cook an entrée for judges before the winner from each round will take part in a dessert cook-off on Saturday.

Contestants must use the five ingredients provided for all rounds but can also incorporate other pantry products into their dishes. Tickets are available to buy at ptix.bm.