Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series!

It's that time of year, folks! In just a few short weeks (exactly 2 from today, actually!) Winston-Salem will welcome 16 chefs to the single-elimination tournament highlighting the best of the state's food, agriculture and culinary talent. By purchasing a ticket, you basically get to play the part of a judge on "Iron Chef," "Chopped," "Top Chef" and the like. It's the "Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series"!

At the Twitter board during a battle last year!

Foodies, you'll be in paradise at this event. You'll enjoy a 6-course meal featuring a North Carolina ingredient and believe me, you won't leave hungry or unsatisfied. When I've dined in the past, featured ingredients have been anything from the more mild and safe Gibsonville's High Rock Farm Chestnut Flour and Honey, to the more adventurous Ostrich and Rabbit! You'll want to have a very limited "do not eat" list for these dinners, but you'll also be amazed at the highly successful execution of these dishes, given that the chefs only have a few hours to prepare them!

With friend, fellow food blogger and official "Got to Be NC Competition Dining" blogger, Nikki Miller-Ka!

I'm thrilled to see some new restaurants and chefs included in this year's line-up - competitors even hail from Brevard and Cary! Old favorites like Noble's Grille, Graze and River Birch Lodge face new food truck The Screaming Radish and beloved Chef Dion Sprenkle from Lexington. Whichever battle you choose to purchase tickets for, they'll all be close ones.

And for the first time ever, the competition will extend to Greenville, SC this summer (my old stomping grounds)! Competitors vie for a grand prize of $2,000, a handmade chef knife by Ironman Forge and the coveted "Red Chef Jacket" provided by ALSCO.

All Triad events will be held at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem. Tickets are a modest $55-$75 and you should get them while they're hot - seats for the semi-finals and finals will FLY. Click here to purchase them now! See you there!