Greer’s OC: It’s a battle of the chefs

Do you love witnessing a live culinary competition and being a judge too? Join Orange County Sunday Night Chef Fight at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Standards of Excellence showroom in Huntington Beach. At the event, they’ll be crowning a new “Champion Chef of Orange County,” and it’s down to two contenders: Chef Lindsay Smith-Rosales of the Nirvana Grille and “rock n’ roll chef” Phil Knoke of SteerCrazy International Catering & Events.

Sunday Night Chef Fights is a cooking competition between local chefs featuring a live audience who get to sample each chef’s creations and act as judge, jury and taste-tester in deciding the winner. Before each event, both chefs are given three base ingredients that must be included in their creations, a shopping allowance and a week to plan and prep their dishes. Then, during the event, each chef and his or her sous chef will have just 30 minutes to cook and finish their dishes.

General seating tickets cost $50 per person, which includes the competition, samples of both chefs’ creations and one pour of each Vino Vidi Vici wine. A limited number of VIP front row seats are also available for $75 per person, which include the best seating in the house for the Chef Fight, priority service, larger portions of each chef’s creations and two pours of each Vino Vidi Vici wine. Tickets are currently on sale at https://www.sundaynightcheffights.com. The Standards of Excellence showroom is at 16001 Gothard St. in Huntington Beach.

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Bouncing sky high

To be honest, I’ve known about Sky High Sports for quite some time.

But due to the fact that my kids begged me not to tell anyone about it for fear that they would no longer have this bounce playground to themselves, I held off.

But now I see the word is out big time about this trampoline fun center on Airway Avenue not far from John Wayne Airport. This is a kid’s dream facility — a place unlike anything we had as kids growing up in Orange County. It’s literally a giant warehouse of trampolines, even trampoline walls, along with areas for private parties and taking breaks.

There are plenty of supervisors, so nothing gets too crazy. You can jump freely, show off your flips and tricks or join organized activities such as trampoline dodge ball. It also features AIRobics classes for those wanting a more formal workout.

If bouncing and jumping is your thing, Sky High Sports is right up your alley. You can drop in for an hour or two, and it’s open daily. Cost is $10 per hour per jumper, or $12 for two hours on Wild Wednesdays.

Sky High is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday and Monday; 2 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday; and 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday at 2970 Airway Ave, Costa Mesa. For more information, call (714) 437-JUMP (5867) or visit ocy.jumpskyhigh.com/index.php.

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Cupcakes from Casey

On the sweetest holiday of the year, Valentine’s Day, Laguna Beach landed a new cupcake bakery. Casey’s Cupcakes shop just opened, following the original shop at the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside.

Casey Reinhardt, owner and former star of MTV’s “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County,” uses her great-grandmother’s irresistible recipes.

“Each one mixes love with the freshest ingredients to make the perfect treat,” Reinhardt says.

Casey’s Cupcakes come in a dozen delicious flavors, from the popular Rockin’ Red Velvet and Sassy Strawberry to Decadent Dark Chocolate and Caribbean Coconut. In addition to different seasonal cupcakes of the month, the shop will offer cupcake-themed merchandise and signature cupcake wedding cakes at the new Laguna Beach location.

Casey’s Cupcakes is open daily 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 303 Broadway, Suite 108 in Laguna Beach. For more information, call (949) 715-8245 or visit https://www.caseyscupcake.com.

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Show college student you care

Now you can send your favorite college student a hip, unique and much-appreciated care package through Orange County-based Parcels.

The start-up company specializes in personalized college kits for holidays, special occasions or just because. Parcels founder Monica Cottam, mother of four (three currently in college), says that when her kids started school, she received a lot of advertising from companies offering care packages, but the boxes were filled with junk.

So she searched for a better alternative and couldn’t find one. That’s when she decided to launch Parcels.

“It wasn’t that hard to come up with care packages that were more creative, with better food choices and actually have items included that my kids would use,” Cottam says. “Plus, each care package had true homemade treats in them that the kids love!”

Parcels allows you to help motivate and support your hardworking students during their school year with a care package to get them through finals or send some joy during the holidays or birthdays. They also carry sorority-specific packages for girls.

Parcels has a variety of care packages to choose from, and you can customize the packages for the perfect gift. The company also takes care of the shipping.

For more information, call (949) 645-1878 or order at https://www.parcelscarepackages.com.

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A presidential upgrade

This Presidents Day weekend, why not celebrate in style in the ultimate suite? The St. Regis Monarch Beach is offering guests a chance at a complimentary upgrade to the Presidential Suite (valued at $20,400) with an existing three-night reservation.

When guests book a three-night stay in any room type over the holiday weekend (Feb. 18 to 21), they will be automatically eligible for a complimentary upgrade to the lavish and luxurious Presidential Suite.

To sweeten the deal, guests are invited to take advantage of “A Time for Pleasure,” offering 20% off stays, any room and any day.

The 3,100-square-foot Presidential Suite features two suites and offers services and amenities including a spacious living area with baby grand piano and fireplace, master bedroom with separate Jacuzzi tub and steam shower, flat-screen televisions that rise from the foot of the bed, connecting guestroom with a king bed and full marble bathroom, terrace with grand fireplace and outdoor speakers, study corner and entertainment center, dining room with seating for 10 people, full-size butler pantry and signature St. Regis Butler Service, and an impressive collection of artwork by world-renowned artists such as Picasso.

Reservations can be made at https://www.stregismb.com or by calling a reservation butler at (800) 722-1543. The St. Regis Monarch Beach is at One Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point.

GREER WYLDER writes Greer’s OC for the Huntington Beach Independent each Thursday and the Daily Pilot and Coastline Pilot each Friday. She’s the founder and president of greersoc.com, a free daily e-mail service that provides the latest in Orange County fashion, dining, music, events and trends. Her blog can be viewed https://www.greersoc.com and she can be contacted at [email protected].