Fresh off an exciting round of battles in Winston-Salem, the Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series is heading to Greensboro! (ICYMI, you can read my recap of the Winston finale here!) This is one of the most incredible food events in North Carolina, so if you live in the Triad, you're going to want to get tickets to the Greensboro battles before they sell out - trust me, they will go fast. Get them here!
Check out the official press release below. I look forward to seeing y'all there!
Local Chef Team Wins the Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series’
Winston-Salem Tournament as Upcoming Greensboro Series Chefs are Unveiled for June
20, 21 and 23 Dinner Events
The Got to Be NC Competition Dining
Series, a single-elimination tournament highlighting the best of the state’s
food, agriculture and culinary talent, crowns a winning team for its
Winston-Salem series. Team Vidalia Boom, made up of three chefs from Vidalia
Restaurant in Boone, brought home the title. Next up, the competition will host
a second Triad series, this time moving to Greensboro with three interactive
battles June 20, 21 and 23. These events will pit another four highly
competitive chef teams against each other for the dinner battles, which will be
held at The Empire Room. Tickets are available now at www.competitiondining.com/events/greensboro.
The upcoming Greensboro bracket
includes:
Monday, June 20 Dinner
o Team
Wiley PickleWeasles from Greensboro: Michael Harkenreader, Undercurrent Restaurant chef de cuisine;
and Noah Sheets and Chris Rosato, Undercurrent Restaurant chefs.
o Team
Hobnob from Brevard: Matthew Montandon, Hobnob at The Cradle of Forestry executive
chef; Donald Francis Meints, Hobnob chef and owner; and Jadedyn Whittemore,
Hobnob chef.
Tuesday, June 21 Dinner
o Team The
Natives from Swannanoa: Eden Roorda, Native Kitchen & Social Pub executive
chef; Todd Ritter, executive chef of Bella Torte Bistro and Bakery in Lenoir; and Sam
Beasley, Native Kitchen & Social Pub chef.
o Team
Sedgefield Culinary Crushers from Greensboro: James R. Patterson III, Sedgefield
Country Club executive chef; Isaac Spencer, Sedgefield Country
Club chef; and Tim Alston Sedgefield Country Club lead cook.
Thursday, June 23 Dinner
o June 20 winning
team versus June 21 winning team
“We’re thrilled for the Got to Be NC
Competition Dining Series to return to Greensboro this year, said Jimmy
Crippen, Competition Dining Series founder and host. “This local series is sure
to impress foodies from around the Triad and we can’t wait to see what these
four talented chef teams whip up in the kitchen. If you missed out on our
Winston-Salem events, you’ll definitely want to make sure to reserve a seat at
one of these three dinner battles before tickets sell out.”
Every Got to Be NC Competition Dining
Series dinner event includes two chef teams battling it out, each preparing
three courses centered on a featured North Carolina ingredient that is revealed
before they start cooking that day. Ticketed guests get in on the action,
savoring a full-service, six-course meal without knowing which chef prepared
which plate. Unlike any other cooking competition, attendees vote on each dish
using a free app, and ultimately help determine who moves on to the next round
and who goes home. New to the competition this year, the creation of All-Star
Dream Teams allows chefs from different restaurants to partner together for the
three-person teams, upping the potential caliber and creating a more fun and
competitive atmosphere for all.
The 2016 Got to Be NC Competition
Dining Series schedule includes a total of eight local tournaments across the
state, each made up of four chef teams vying for the local title. The touring
competition includes dual brackets in both Raleigh and Charlotte, and one
tournament in each of Durham, Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Wilmington. It all
culminates in October with the Battle of Champions to name a statewide victor.
To earn their spot in the annual
championship later this year, Winston-Salem’s champion Team Vidalia Boom had to
defeat Team Miller Time, made up of three chefs from Graze Restaurant, Twin
City Quarter and O’Callahan’s Publick House. The event pitted the chefs against
each other with two featured ingredients, Joyce Farms white pheasant and
Harrell Hill Farms sorghum molasses. Team Vidalia Boom chefs Sam Ratchford,
Julius Kalman and Jason Walsh served up the highest scoring dish of the night
with the fifth course, which included Harrell Hill Farms sorghum chocolate
cake, chocolate buttercream, sorghum nectarine ice cream, blueberry coulis,
sorghum caramel and alderwood smoked Joyce Farms crispy pheasant skin. (See
complete scores and dishes here.)
“As a returning competitor who has made
it to a local finale before, it feels amazing to finally clutch a Competition
Dining Series title,” said Chef Ratchford. “The other team put on a great
battle and I wouldn’t have come out on top without my creative and talented
teammates. We’re looking forward to sharing our food in such a fun setting
again at the statewide championship later this year!”
As part of the Winston-Series series
winnings, the team took home $2,000 in cash and prizes, and each member received
a handcrafted knife by Ironman Forge, an autographed cookbook by master French
baker Lionel Vatinet of La Farm Bakery, the coveted “Red Chef Jacket” provided
by ALSCO and a spot to compete in the annual Battle of Champions.
The Got to Be NC Competition Dining
Series will remain in the Triad with Greensboro-based battles. All Greensboro events are held atThe Empire Room located at 203 South Elm
St. downtown. Tickets for the June 20 and 21 battles are $59 each,
and tickets for the local finale battle, June 23, are $69 each.
Reservations are open now at http://www.competitiondining.com/events/greensboro.
About The
Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series
The Got to
Be NC Competition Dining Series is sponsored by the NC Department of
Agriculture & Consumer Services, Pate Dawson-Southern Foods, Certified
Angus Beef®, Freshness from North Carolina Waters, Joyce Farms,
Goodnight Brothers, Pepsi Bottling Ventures, ALSCO, Swisher Hygiene and local
and regional partners throughout the state. The goal of the series is to
celebrate North Carolina products and agriculture, and to showcase the culinary
ingenuity and talent across the state. For more information, visitwww.competitiondining.com or get in on
the conversation at www.facebook.com/competitiondining and
@CompDiningNC on Twitteror Instagram.