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foodie b’eat: Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series is coming to Winston-Salem!

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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.

IMG_3721The 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:

“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.

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foodie b’eat: Get Ready for Competition Dining’s Final Fire!

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You know I LOVE THE Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series. So much so that I have worked at the event. It’s so much fun and incredibly delicious. And we’ve really been introduced to some rising stars through this competition. Well tickets to Final Fire go on sale this week. Check out the latest:


Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series Announces Chef Brackets and Ticket Sales for
Statewide Championship, Final Fire

Interactive Dinner Competition Returns to Raleigh for Championship Battles Nov. 19 to 22

Raleigh, North Carolina – Oct. 22, 2014 – The Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series, a tournament highlighting the best of the state’s food, agriculture and culinary talent, is gearing up for its Final Fire series in which five chefs from across North Carolina will battle it out to take home the statewide championship. Community members are invited to attend the tournament’s four live dinner events, savoring the six-course meal and serving as judges, from Nov. 19 to 22 in Raleigh. Tickets to these interactive battles go on sale Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. at http://www.competitiondining.com and are guaranteed to sell out quickly.

The five competing chefs won their regional series to move on to earn a place at Final Fire. It’s all part of the 2014 Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series, a single-elimination, Iron Chef-style challenge between local chefs across North Carolina. Regional series included Wilmington, Asheville, Greensboro, Raleigh and Charlotte, with eight to 16 talented chefs competing in each tournament.

The five winning chefs, representing some of the best North Carolina culinary talent, recently drew knives to determine the championship bracket for the upcoming Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series Final Fire, which is scheduled as follows:

Nov. 19 Dinner: Fire on the Dock Champion Antoine Murray of Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington, versus Fire on the Rock Champion Michelle Bailey of Season’s at Highland Lake in Flat Rock
Nov. 20 Dinner: Fire in the City Champion Jon Fortes of Mimosa Grill in Charlotte, versus Nov. 19 winner
Nov. 21 Dinner: Fire in the Triad Champion Tim Thompson of Marisol Restaurant in Greensboro, versus Fire in the Triangle Champion Dean Thompson of Flights in Raleigh
Nov. 22 Championship Dinner: Nov. 20 winner, versus Nov. 21 winner

Along with bragging rights, at stake in the Final Fire series is a grand prize of $4,000 cash, two handmade chef knives by Ironman Forge and a trip to the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa Valley, California, compliments of Kikkoman and the Pro Chef Program.

In each of the Final Fire dinner battles, just as each dinner throughout the year-long Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series, two participating chefs each prepare three courses centered on a secret or featured ingredient that comes from a North Carolina farmer or artisan producer. Featured ingredients are revealed to the chefs only an hour before they start cooking that day and must be used in each course.

At the dinner events, ticketed guests get in on the action, savoring the combined six courses without knowing which chef prepared each plate. Alongside culinary and guest judges, diners rate each dish using an interactive app, ultimately determining who moves on to the next round and who goes home.

“North Carolinians are really getting into these interactive events; we’ve had such an amazing response from fans across the state,” said Jimmy Crippen, Competition Dining Series founder and host. “With the level of talent competing, the four Final Fire dinner battles are sure to be extremely competitive and entertaining for everyone in attendance. It’s the culmination of the fun, creativity and talent we’ve seen throughout the year and we expect tickets to sell out really fast – in fact, last year’s Final Fire tickets sold out within eight minutes. Those interested should be online and ready when the tickets are released!”

All Final Fire events are held at Renaissance North Hills Raleigh, located at 4100 Main at North Hills Street. Tickets to attend the first three battles are $129 each excluding beverage, tax and tip. Tickets for the final championship battle are $139 each excluding beverage, tax and tip. Learn more and buy tickets starting Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. via http://www.competitiondining.com.

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, the NC Wine & Grape Council, Hits Technology 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 http://www.competitiondining.com or get in on the conversation at http://www.facebook.com/competitiondining and @CompDiningNC on Twitter or Instagram.