Breaking Sweet Start Smackdown news: Jean-Luc Matecat (second from left), chef of the hotly anticipated Mule Bar, in Winooski, will replace Christopher Amm of the Mad Taco at the Vermont Restaurant Week kick-off event. Both restaurants are co-owned by Joey Nagy. Scott Kerner and Wes Hamilton, of Three Penny Taproom, are his partners in Mule Bar.

The beer bar is slated to open next month at 38 Main Street, the former Pho Pasteur location.

Expect a creative dessert from Matecat at the April 24 pastry competition. He was most recently chef at the whimsical Amuse at the Essex Resort & Spa.

And don't wait to get a ticket. The event will likely sell out by the end of today.