Pleasanton, California<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Safeway's "Search for Our Next Chef" Competition is heating up. After weeding through submissions, conducting a national People's Choice online vote and conducting three cook-off events in San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago, three finalists will have one more opportunity to showcase their skills in the Final. This last cook-off event will take place on May 16, 2012 at the Safeway Culinary Kitchens in Pleasanton, California where they will offer their skillet meal recipes to a judging panel that includes Safeway Executives, Executive Chef Alexandra Guarnaschelli from Food Network's "Chopped" and "Iron Chef." The three candidates are , Chanda Clark, Mary Keelan-Williams, and Dave Histed. Mike Minasi, President of Marketing at Safeway, states, "This entire competition has been thrilling, but with the final cook-off just weeks away, the excitement is really building." Mr. Minasi goes on, "Not only do our finalists have impressive culinary skills, they all share Safeway's passion in bringing affordable, delicious and healthier foods to our shoppers."<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">www.safeway.com<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
