It’s back! After a two-year COVID hiatus, Chef’s Best, the signature fundraiser of ACT in Faith of Greater West Chester, is back — but with a twist. What was a one-night, in-person event has morphed into a six-week restaurant tour, with more time to sample the delectable offerings of local restaurants, more time to vote for the winning dish, and more excitement.

Right now, four West Chester restaurants — Ram’s Head Bar and Grill, Opa Taverna, Split Rail Tavern, and Slow Hand — are offering a free signature appetizer to patrons taking part in Chef’s Best. A $50 ticket entitles the purchaser to one coupon for each of the four restaurants on the tour. The coupon may be redeemed through Thursday, May 26. All diners will have the opportunity to vote for the “Best of Chef’s Best.”

“We’re excited to be back and defend our title,” said Ram’s Head Chef James Jones, whose Asian-Glazed Pork Taco took the crown as the 2019 Chef’s Best winner. “We can’t wait to share our brand of elevated comfort food at this year’s Chef’s Best competition. Our approach is always the same in competition and in the restaurant: High-quality ingredients speak for themselves!”

All proceeds benefit ACT in Faith of Greater West Chester, an interfaith organization that seeks to empower un- and under-employed West Chester residents to stabilize their households and build toward sustainability. Services provided by ACT in Faith include eviction and utility shut-off prevention, employment support services, and personal care and household items, food staples, and homemade frozen meals available to all shoppers at its Community Cupboard.

“It was a blow to have to cancel Chef’s Best in 2020, literally days before it was to take place,” said ACT in Faith Board President Denise Antonelli, who is also a partner at the West Chester law firm Gawthrop Greenwood. “And then 2021 was lost as well. As we started discussing the 2022 event, we knew we wanted to reengage with the restaurant community and, with COVID restrictions lifted, thought encouraging in-person dining was a better way to support them. And so the tour concept was born. We hope that everyone finds it as fun as we’ve imagined it during our planning!”

Chef’s Best 2022 lead sponsors are Gawthrop Greenwood, PC and FPA Wealth Management.

To purchase tickets or become an individual or corporate sponsor, click here, call 484-324-8492, or e-mail contact@actinfaithwc.org.