By Stephanie Smartschan
JFLV Director of Marketing

Four new teams will take on returning champions “50 Shades of Latke” at this year’s second annual Latke-Vodka Hanukkah Cook-Off.

Like at last year’s sold-out event, teams will compete to make their best version of a traditional potato pancake and vodka-based drink.

A panel of judges will rate the presentations on originality, taste, presentation and pairing. Their scores will be combined with votes from the audience taste-testers to determine the winner.

“Last year’s competition was so much fun, seeing the great ideas teams came up with and just having a blast laughing and cooking with my team,” said Robyn Finberg, captain of team 50 Shades. “I am so excited to be able to take on new challengers and create something new and exciting with my team.”

The cook-off is presented by the Jewish Community Center of the Lehigh Valley and the Young Adult Division of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

“With such a strong showing from last year’s teams, we can’t wait to see what this year’s teams will come up with,” said Amy Sams, adult programming coordinator at the JCC. “The possibilities are endless!”

“It’s such a fun way to celebrate Hanukkah and bring people together,” said Aaron Gorodzinsky, director of outreach and community relations at the Federation. “We are ready to help the teams get cooking!”

The second annual Latke-Vodka Hanukkah Cook-Off will take place on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018, at 7 p.m. at the JCC of the Lehigh Valley. LVKC supervised. Tickets are $36 and space is limited. To secure your spot, register today by calling the JCC at 610-435-3571 or visiting www.lvjcc.org/latkevodka.