Yum! Local chefs, home cooks create cheesy masterpieces in "Mac 'n Cheeze Takedown"

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- It was all about mac 'n cheese in downtown Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon, October 5th.

Turner Hall's Ballroom was the site of this year's "Mac 'n Cheeze Takedown."

It was a cook-off between dozens of local chefs and home cooks -- but there was a catch!

The recipes had to incorporate at least one Wisconsin cheese to be eligible.

Tickets to the event were $15-per-person, but ticket-holders could enjoy all the mac 'n cheese they could eat!

"There's a chance here to experiment. I mean, when you're just cooking for your family, it gets a little crazy.  When you're told you're about to cook for 200 people and you have 200 people to impress, you go nuts.  You go bonkers. You make something crazy and outside the norm," event organizer Matt Timms said.

The dishes were judged in two categories: the people's choice and the judges' choice.

Winners received a collection of cookware supplies worth $1,000.

We're told Jean Kriesel won the competition with her mac 'n cheese called "The Widowmaker." The Widowmaker won both the people's choice and the judges' choice awards. Kriesel tells FOX6 News the secret is the butter, the cream cheese and the whipping cream.