Halloween may be behind us, but a handful of Santa Fe chefs out there should still be scared, very scared, according to ... another handful of Santa Fe chefs!

That's because the Santa Fe Harvest Festival is in full swing, and I've heard my fair share of serious trash talk among chefs and cooks who have thrown down the gauntlet for the festival's upcoming cooking competitions.

The Santa Fe Harvest Festival, the brainchild of the same folks who brought you New Mexico Restaurant Week, have cooked up more than a week of special events, culinary demonstrations, a "Grand Gourmet" food expo, and nearly a month of dining discounts at some of Santa Fe's notable restaurants.

I sat down with event organizers Michele Ostrove and Lucien Bonnafoux (of Santa Fe's Wing's Media) at the plush new Agave Lounge at the Eldorado Hotel and other locales over the past few months to get an idea of just what they wanted to accomplish through the Santa Fe Harvest Festival.

First and foremost, they explained, it's a chance to get people together for two common goals: First, to raise money for Cooking With Kids (http://cookingwithkids.net), a great local organization that motivates students from kindergarten to the sixth grade to make healthy food choices through hands-on nutrition education and cooking activities in the schools; and second, to have the local restaurant community share their talents with us — and put their skills where their mouths are. "Some of these chefs are out for blood," Bonnafoux said.

"More than a few chefs are taking this very seriously, and this is by no means a dog and pony show," Bonnafoux said. "The caliber of talent in this inaugural festival is very high, and as we know, chefs tend to have a competitive streak. This isn't going to be easy for some of them. It's cutthroat."

Things get started at 11 a.m. Saturday on the Plaza with a "Restaurant Relay," in which teams of servers use the Plaza as a racetrack while carrying loaded serving trays. This is the restaurant business, and these are servers, people — the prize is cold-hard cash!

Beginning at 1 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, the "Chef Showdown" will get under way. The first competition (salsa) will be at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino, while the second competition (one-pot dish wand mystery basket) will be at the Inn and Spa at Loretto. Both rounds will eliminate a majority of competitors after all are given a cooking station, a few staple ingredients — and some very interesting secret ingredients compiled by the Fork and others. Also on Saturday is the Amateur Chef Showdown (registration is closed), where the winner will walk away with a seven-piece set of Chantal professional Copper Fusion Collection cookware.

On Nov. 6, and Nov. 13, The Santa Fe Harvest Festival will present "Bar Wars," and bring together some of this city's best mixologists and bar hands for a shaken-and-stirred battle of skill and personal flair.

Top prize is $1,000 in cash!

Nov. 13 rings in the Chef Showdown finale, the gala dinner and silent auction to benefit Cooking With Kids.

For the showdown finale, Ostrove and Bonnafoux are bringing in some big-gun judges: chef and cookbook author Sara Moulton of Food Network and PBS; Esquire magazine's 2011 Chef of the Year and former Santa Fe resident John Rivera Sedlar; and James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Bradley Ogden.

These competitions are going to be fun, filling and fierce, but there are less-heated events to attend during the run of the festival, such as cooking classes with local chefs (Nov. 2 to 19), beer and wine tastings, and special dining discounts at more than 50 restaurants for passholders.

Gold festival passes, $35 per person, includes restaurant discounts, admission to the preliminary Chef Showdown and Bar Wars, competitions, cooking classes, demonstrations, and tastings. Red passes, $160 per person, include entry to Gold Pass events, and admission to the Grand Gourmet event and the Best of the Fest Gala Dinner.

Passes are available at Whole Foods Markets in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, Sunflower Farmers Markets in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, Eldorado Hotel, Santa Fe Hilton Golf Resort & Spa at Buffalo Thunder, Collected Works Bookstore, Cowgirl BBQ, and online at http://harvestfestival.santafe.com and http://cookingwithkids.net.

Contact Rob DeWalt at rdewalt@sfnewmexican.com. or on twitter at twitter.com/sfnmTASTE.

SANTA FE HARVEST FESTIVAL EVENTS

Saturday, Nov. 5

• 11 a.m. at the Santa Fe Plaza — Restaurant Relay. Teams of four servers from more than 20 restaurants race around the Plaza carrying trays of drinks.

• 1 to 4 p.m. at Painted Parrot Buffet in Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino — First elimination round of the Chef Showdown. More than 20 top chefs will compete before a live audience and amateur cooks.

Sunday, Nov. 6

• 2 p.m. at Club Warehouse in Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino — Elimination round of Bar Wars.

Thursday, Nov. 10

• 1 to 4 p.m. at Inn and Spa at Loretto — Second elimination round of the Chef Showdown. 

Sunday, Nov. 13

• 1 to 4 p.m. at Eldorado Hotel — Grand Gourmet.

• 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Eldorado Hotel — Best of the Fest. Enjoy a sit-down dinner while watching the final four chefs prepare a three-course meal for celebrity judges.

For more information, visit http://harvestfestival.santafe.com

Chefs slated to compete

• Mark Connell of Max’s and Tomme

• Jeffrey Kaplan of Castle Ranch Steakhouse

• Jose Rodriguez of Plaza Café Southside

• Fernando Ruiz of The Lodge at Chama

• Brian Sepulveda of Hilton Santa Fe Golf Resort and Spa at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino

• Xavier Grenet of Ristra and Azur

• Michael Meisel of Red Sage at Hilton Santa Fe Golf Resort & Spa at Buffalo Thunder& Casino

• Kirstin Griffin of Café Café

• Rocky Durham of Cooking With Kids and Santa Fe Community College

• Cristian Pontiggia of Osteria d’Assisi

• Fernando Olea of Epazote

• David Sundberg of Blue Corn Café & Brewery

• Marco Aguilar of The Palace Restaurant

• James Campbell Caruso of La Boca

• Joseph Wrede of The Palace Restaurant

• Christopher McLean of Las Fuentes at Bishop’s Lodge Ranch Resort & Spa

• Eric Hall of Fuego! at La Posada Resort & Spa

• Alfred Matter of Eldorado Hotel

• Lino Pertusini of Pizzeria da Lino

• Roland Richter of Joe’s Diner and Pizza

• Matt Ostrander of Luminaria at Inn and Spa at Loretto

• Ahmed Obo of Jambo Café

Line-up subject to change