Hottest Chef Round 1: Strong, Kurtz, Beerman, Jew

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Eater readers across the Bay Area, the first round of eliminations in Eater's Annual Hottest Chefs Competition begins now. This year 32 chefs will battle it out for the coveted title through daily polls, and the champion will go on to face the winners from our sister sites in New York, Austin, Miami, Chicago, Portland and Los Angeles. As is always the case, we'll be keeping a close watch on any suspicious behavior, and disqualifications are always an option. So let's make it a clean fight.

Now let's dive into the first scuffle: Anthony Strong of Locanda faces David Kurtz of Maven, Chris Beerman of Citizen's Band and Brandon Jew of Bar Agricole. The hottest victor will join the upcoming winners of round one in the next set of heats.