Bethenny Frankel is taking her viral Chicken Salad Olympics to the next level.
The “Real Housewives of New York City” alum has officially launched the “Chicken Salad Olympics: Professional Chef Edition,” challenging culinary heavyweights including Bobby Flay, Martha Stewart, Giada De Laurentiis, Cat Cora, Michael Symon and more to battle it out for the coveted — and entirely unofficial — Chicken Salad Gold Trophy.
“Breaking chicken salad news: The Chicken Salad Olympics Professional Chef Edition,” Frankel announced in an Instagram video Wednesday.
The reality star and entrepreneur — who has spent the past year taste-testing and ranking chicken salads from delis and markets across the country on social media — jokingly called on some of the biggest names in food to prove their skills.
“Bobby Flay, I’ve come on your show, ‘Throwdown!’ Now it’s time to really throw down,” she said. “Giada, you can say chicken in Italian.”
Frankel, 55, also took aim at Scott Conant, Sam Talbot and Billy Durney of Sag Harbor Tavern, while even floating Martha Stewart as a potential competitor.
“In a time of so much stress and sensitivity, placing the utmost importance and severity on something with absolutely no stakes is my sense of humor,” Frankel exclusively told Page Six.
“Iron chefs who have vowed never to compete again are coming out of retirement for this very important global event. May the best chef win!!”
The Skinnygirl founder also reflected on how her playful obsession with chicken salad unexpectedly turned into a culinary movement.
“Chicken salad was a dying delicacy when I first talked about it,” she says. “Now it’s a modernized popular gourmet market and deli staple. Heavy is the Chicken Salad Queen title … but someone has to wear it.”
What began as one of Frankel’s signature social media series quickly evolved into a real-time competition, with several celebrated chefs already embracing the challenge.
Within hours of her post, Cat Cora, Sam Talbot, Rocco DiSpirito and Billy Durney had all jumped into the comments section to officially accept, paying homage to the woman many are now calling the “Chicken Salad Queen.”
As Frankel put it: “Your body, your chicken, your choice.”
