Seattle's Canlis' Enigmatic Campaign For Best New Chef

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A tipster alerts us to a serious campaign for Food & Wine's People's Best New Chef competition going on in Seattle: brothers Mark and Brian Canlis are going around in suits wearing "Vote for Jason" sandwich boards as part of a get-out-the-vote effort for Jason Franey of the 60 year-old Canlis restaurant. Every day for the past three days, they've posted photographs of themselves at various Seattle landmarks on Canlis' Facebook and Twitter pages. (You can vote in the Northwest category, which includes Franey, here.)

That's not all: hidden in each photo are Morse Code clues that are hints to a new pop-up restaurant Franey is launching. First person to figure out the clues gets a free dinner. Apparently tomorrow they'll be photographed from a helicopter on the roof of the Space Needle; stay tuned.

Three days ago we launched our second social media campaign, this time in support of our chef, who has been nominated for Food & Wine's new "The People's Best New Chef" award. Because we all believe that he should be in the kitchen, and not out garnering votes, we decided to hit the campaign trail for him with a series of photographs, one released each day of the campaign. On its own, it's just a fun idea, an artsy series of photographs. Unbeknown to anyone, however, is that the game, the hunt, is on again: Embedded into each photo is Morse Code -- clues leading to a new pop up restaurant we'll be launching to bring attention to our chef, Jason Franey. The first to figure this out and find the letters in each photo will join us for dinner.

Tomorrow we'll be on the roof of the space needle in suits and sandwich boards with a photographer in a helicopter. · Food & Wine's The People's Best New Chef: Northwest [Eatocracy]
· People's Best New Chef Coverage on Eater [-E-]