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Tofu, a substance that can be everything and nothing, is the perfect ingredient for a chef battle. That’s why House Tofu, a Japanese brand, is sponsoring one on July 22 at the Astor Center. Ed Higgins, chef de cuisine at Insieme, Wylie Dufresne of wd-50, Erik Battes, chef de cuisine of Perry Street, and Akinobu Suzuki, the executive chef of Sakagura, will all prepare a sweet and a savory tofu dish. The winner gets $5,000.

“I’m thinking about doing what we’ve been doing here at Insieme, using old-world flavors to inspire modern food," says Higgins. “I want to completely lighten up some of the old Italian recipes, maybe by using tofu as cheese in them.” Dufresne is wary of talking. “I don’t see the upside of revealing what I’m planning,” he says. “But it will be in the wd-50 style. We find tofu very interesting…we use it as a binding and bulking agent. There’s a lot we can do it with it.” The event is open to the public and admission is free. Just email here with your name and number of guests.