Make Your Nomination for the Hottest Chef in PDX 2011

The Muppets' Swedish chef: Because all Swedish people are sexy, ja?

Just in time for the coldest, wettest, and-flat most unpleasant time of the year, we're heating things up at Eater by kicking off Portland's first go at our annual Hottest Chef Competition. The city's sexiest male and female culinary artists will battle it out tournament-style in nail-biting heats and final elimination rounds, all to crown a PDX winner that'll go on to rep Rip City in Eater's national effort to celebrate this country's hottest chef.

But before we get to all that sexy excitement, we need your help. Nominate your biggest chef crushes, kitchen co-workers (or even yourselves — we won't tell) by emailing pdx@eater.com, along with a picture or link to an image, if you have one. Nominations will be culled and seeded by number of votes (think March Madness), then the games will begin come February 1. (And though chefs of all levels are welcome, we're going to hold off on bartenders and front-of-house nominees — though no worries, your objectification competition comes later this year.)