You may notice a few changes with Competition Dining. First, it’s now being referred to as the Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series. Gone is the “Fire in the…” title. The other BIG change is that this year it’s in WINSTON-SALEM. And it’s about time! We know we have great chefs across the Triad and especially Greensboro, but it’s time that the rest of the Triad came on over to the Twin City to see its gorgeous downtown and enjoy this competition, where plenty of WSNC chefs will be featured along with their counterparts across the county line and beyond. Take a look at the brackets which were announced today at the media event at the Benton Convention Center.

The Winston-Salem series features 16 chefs starting May 26. Here’s the official release from the Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series which lists the chefs and the match-ups. Come out for one of the greatest night’s of food…ever.  And be sure to catch the full story and some one on one interviews in the next issue of YES! Weekly coming out on May 13.

The Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series, a single-elimination tournament highlighting the best of the state’s food, agriculture and culinary talent, will pit 16 highly competitive chefs against each other in its upcoming regional tournament in the Triad. For the first time in competition history, the local series will be held in Winston-Salem. All of the 15 interactive battles will be hosted at the Benton Convention Center from May 26 through July 7, and tickets are now available at www.competitiondining.com/events/triad.

In every Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series dinner event, two chef teams battle it out preparing three courses each centered on a featured North Carolina ingredient that is revealed only an hour before they start cooking that day. Ticketed dinner guests savor a full-service, six-course meal without knowing which chef prepared which dishes. Unlike any other cooking competition, attendees vote on each course using a free app, and ultimately help determine who moves on to the next battle round and who goes home.

Series competitors are randomly assigned to brackets. The Triad preliminary match-up battles include:

• May 26 Dinner: John Bobby of Noble’s Grille in Winston-Salem, versus Andrew Nicholas Davila of Belle at the Jones House in Cary
• May 27 Dinner: Matthew Montandon of The Phoenix in Brevard, versus Dion Sprenkle of Chef Dion Sprenkle in Lexington
• June 1 Dinner: Michael Harkenreader of Undercurrent Restaurant in Greensboro, versus Kevin Riddick of The Screaming Radish in Winston-Salem
• June 2 Dinner: Christian Froelich of Hearth Restaurant at Sanders Ridge in Boonville, versus Anders Benton of Gia in Greensboro
• June 3 Dinner: Mark Grohman of Meridian Restaurant in Winston-Salem, versus Dave Nicoletta of Giannos in Highpoint
• June 8 Dinner: Travis Myers of River Birch Lodge in Winston-Salem, versus Alex Pierce of Greensboro Country Club in Greensboro
• June 9 Dinner: Richard Miller of Graze in Winston-Salem, versus Michael Roberson of The Iron Hen Café in Greensboro
• June 10 Dinner: Trey Prescott of J. Pepper’s Southern Grille in Kernersville, versus Tim Barbrey of Perky’s Bistro in Jamestown

“We’re excited to be going to Winston-Salem and really impressed by the level of culinary talent in the competition this year,” said Jimmy Crippen, Competition Dining Series founder and host. “We have chefs from Winston-Salem, Greensboro and across the state. They’ll all face off in what I know will be one of the most fun, competitive and delicious tournaments for everyone involved.”

During 2015, the Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series is hosting bracketed tournaments in three regions of the state: Raleigh, Winston-Salem, and two brackets in Charlotte. For the first time ever, the tournament will also host a bracket in South Carolina, which will be held in Greenville this summer. The five winners each receive a grand prize of $2,000, a handmade chef knife by Ironman Forge and the coveted “Red Chef Jacket” provided by ALSCO.  Additionally, all five move on to compete in the battle of champions at the end of the year.

All Triad events are held at the Benton Convention Center located at 301 W 5th Street in Winston-Salem. Tickets range from $55 to $75, excluding beverage, tax and service fee. Guests can attend as many dinners as they like and tickets must be purchased by midnight the day before a battle. Reservations are open now at www.competitiondining.com/events/triad.

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®, Pepsi Bottling Ventures, Libbey, ALSCO, NC Egg Association, Hits Technology, Joyce Farms and local partners in each region of the state. The goal of the series is to celebrate local North Carolina products and agriculture, and to showcase the culinary ingenuity and talent across the state. For more information, visit www.competitiondining.com or get in on the conversation at www.facebook.com/competitiondining and @CompDiningNC on Twitter or Instagram.