Announcing the 2015 Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series

The Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series Triangle events begin this Monday, January 19, and culminates with a single regional winner on March 2. The champion then goes head to head in the final battle with the winners of the City series (Charlotte) and the Triad series (Winston-Salem). One person will be crowned state champion.

This series is unlike anything anywhere. In an NCAA-style bracket tournament, two chefs face off and cook a three-course dinner based on a secret local ingredient that contestants learn about only an hour before each event. Then, in a blind tasting, 150 diners, including three professional judges, use an interactive app to rate each of the six plates to determine who will advance to the next round. Each course receives scores based on presentation, aroma, overall flavor, execution, creativity, and use of the secret ingredient.

This year’s Triangle First-Round match-ups are:
Jan. 19 Dinner: Gerry Fong of Persimmons Waterfront Restaurant in New Bern, versus Benjamin Harris of Midtown Grille in Raleigh
Jan. 20 Dinner: Trey Cleveland of Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery in Chapel Hill, versus Ryan Conklin of Rex Healthcare in Raleigh
Jan. 21 Dinner: Shane Ingram of Four Square Restaurant in Durham, versus Ben Strange of Aperitivo at Lawson’s Landing in New Bern
Jan. 26 Dinner: Christopher Hill of Faire Steak & Seafood in Raleigh, versus Teddy Diggs of Il Palio in Chapel Hill
Jan. 27 Dinner: Ben Adams of Piedmont Restaurant in Durham, versus Chelsi Hogue of Ed's Southern Food & Spirits in Goldsboro
Jan. 28 Dinner: Patrick Cowden of Tobacco Road Sports Cafe in Raleigh/Durham, versus Curt Shelvey of Curt's Cucina in Southern Pines
Feb. 2 Dinner: Spencer Carter of Weathervane in Chapel Hill, versus Rhett Morris of Rhett's Restaurant in Southern Pines
Feb. 3 Dinner: Benjamin Guaman of Governors Club in Chapel Hill, versus Brandon Stark of Michael's Seafood Restaurant in Carolina Beach. 

                                                          The 2015 Triangle Competitors

If you’d like to attend, and I highly recommend you do, all Triangle events are held at 1705 Prime, located at 1705 E. Millbrook in Raleigh. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Tickets for a preliminary battle cost $55 per person. Tickets for a quarterfinal battle are $59 each, excluding beverage, tax and service fee. Attending a semifinal battle costs $69 per person. Tickets for the final competition are $75 each, excluding beverage, tax and service fee.  Make your reservations now at www.competitiondining.com.  

The past regional and Final Fire winners are:
2014 Final Fire - Jon Fortes: Mimosa Grill in Charlotte

2014 Fire in the City - Jon Fortes: Mimosa Grill in Charlotte

2014 Fire in the Triangle - Dean Thompson: Flights in Raleigh

2014 Fire in the Triad - Tim Thompson: Marisol in Greensboro

2014 Fire on the Rock - Michelle Bailey: Seasons at Highland Lake in Flat Rock

2014 Fire on the Dock - Antoine Murray: Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington

2013 Final Fire - Adam Hayes: Red Stag Grill in Asheville

2013 Fire in the City - Jon Fortes: Mimosa Grill in Charlotte

2013 Fired in the Triangle - Dean Thompson: Flights in Raleigh

2013 Fire in the Triad - John Bobby: Noble's Grille in Winston-Salem

2013 Fire on the Dock - Gerry Fong: Persimmons in New Bern

2013 Fire on the Rock - Adam Hayes: Red Stag Grill in Asheville

2012 Final Fire - Ryan Payne: Weathervane in Chapel Hill

2012 Fire in the Triad - George Neal: 1618 Seafood Grille in Greensboro

2012 Fire in the Triangle - Ryan Payne: Weathervane in Chapel Hill

2012 Fire on the Dock - Andy Hopper: Chefs 105 in Morehead City

2012 Fire on the Rock - Michael Foreman: Bistro Roca in Blowing Rock

Food: To be a better cook, buy the right knives | CapeCodOnline.com

I had the pleasure of working with Andrea Weigl from the News and Observer on this piece. It was originally published in that paper and has since been picked up by the Charlotte Observer and Cape Cod Times.

Food: To be a better cook, buy the right knives | CapeCodOnline.com

Smashburger Comes to the Triangle

The plethora of burger options in the area has made discerning one from another increasingly difficult. So, when Smashburger opened its first Triangle store in Durham (and only the second in North Carolina), I was curious to see what (if anything) would set this chain apart.

Upon entering the fast-casual eatery, I received a pleasant surprise. A smiling team member greeted me: “Hi, welcome to Smashburger. How are you today?” Walking to the service counter, I felt appreciated and at ease. After a few moments of small talk, she asked, “Have you dined with us before?”  When I told her I hadn’t, she explained the menu, the technique used to cook the burgers, and the company philosophy.

Smashburger’s menu features seven composed 100% certified Angus beef burgers (including one local, seasonal special), a vegetarian black bean burger, five composed chicken sandwiches, and three salads in addition to the option to create your own burger or chicken sandwich. Naturally, Smashburger offers the usual assortment of cheeses and a variety of sauces, but the toppings and salad ingredients are outside the norm. Here, they are fresh and either prepared daily (the raw red onions, jalapenos, grilled onions, and grilled mushrooms, for example) or to order (like the fried eggs, guacamole, applewood-smoked bacon, and sliced avocado). Further surpassing burger chain expectations, Smashburger serves its sandwiches on artisan buns. Customers can choose between egg, multigrain, spicy chipotle, or gluten-free. Additionally, the menu not only offers traditional fries but also Sweet Potato Fries; “Smashfries” – seasoned with minced garlic, olive oil, and rosemary; “Veggie Frites” – flash fried green beans, asparagus, and/or carrot sticks; and “Haystack Onions”- thinly sliced onion rings, battered, fried, and seasoned.  Then, to go along with the typical soft drink options, Smashburger sells wine and local craft beer as well as hand spun shakes, malts, and floats, made with Haagen-Dazs ice cream.

    

My new friend then explained the “smash” in Smashburger: “Every time a burger is ordered, we take a loosely packed ball of fresh, never frozen, 100% Certified Angus beef and place it on a 400 degree butteredgrill. Then, we smash the burger with our signature smashing utensil, hold it for 10 seconds, and sprinkle it with our special seasoning mix. By doing this, we create a sear on the bottom of the burger that ultimately forces the burger to cook in its own juices and locks in all the flavors. The result is a consistently delicious, juicy burger that, we hope, will keep you coming back for more. This technique also enables us to cook your burger in less than four minutes, which is about half the time of a normal restaurant.”

After you place your order, the food is delivered to your table. So, unlike other burger joints, you don’t have to stand around awkwardly waiting for it to cook. Plus, Smashburger serves all its food in metal baskets, not in bags or wrapped in paper, and, if you’d like a knife or fork, you are given stainless steel to eat with, not prepackaged plastic.

Smashburger’s mission, to offer satisfying, affordable, fresh, high-quality food in a place with a burger soul, has definitely struck a chord. The Denver, Colorado-based company has more than 220 locations in 29 states and four foreign countries with new stores opening every month. If that’s not impressive enough, Forbes ranked the chain sixth on its list of Most Promising Companies.

The décor and atmosphere at Smashburger are atypical, too. Eye-catching local photos hang on the walls, and frosted glass separates the dining room from the entryway. Modern design, soft pendant lighting, cushioned booths, and wooden tables and chairs define the space.

How’s that for differentiation?

With a little help from my friend...

I know, I know. It has been a ridiculously long time since my last post. I’m sure some of you are asking, “What have you been doing?” or “What made you decide to start blogging again?” The first question is easy. I’ve moved twice, started writing for OKRA Magazine, and taught over 2500 students in my cooking classes. As for the second, …

I recently had the pleasure of sharing lunch with the generous, kind, inspiring, amazingly talented, and always gracious Nancie McDermott. Nancie urged me strenuously to blog again. Her last words to me that afternoon were “1 post, 1 week, don’t over think it, and don’t make it too long…or I’ll have to yell at you.”

In the days that followed our lunch, two of Nancie’s insights kept playing in my head. The first was an old Chinese saying: “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, but the second best time is today.” That is, don’t lament what you haven’t done. You can’t change the past, but you can get started (or restarted) today. Just show up every day and take baby steps. You’ll get stronger along the way.

The other was that we, as professionals, have a lot of knowledge that we take for granted. The techniques and tidbits we have stockpiled may be common practice for us, but they could be what motivates someone else to get in (or back in) their kitchen. As a culinary instructor, that hit me hard. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen something on Facebook or Twitter liked or shared a thousand times or called “genius” and thought, “Really? There are people out there who didn’t know that?” So, please, don’t take your talent, expertise, or experience for granted. Celebrate and share them. As Nancie reminded me, “You never know what someone else doesn’t know.”    

Thank you, Nancie! Here is my first baby step, my first post in over two years. And, by the way, I’ve already begun writing my next!

P.S. On top of being such a wonderful person, Nancie is the author of 10 cookbooks chock full of delicious dishes (including Southern Cakes, Quick and Easy Thai, Southern Pies, and Quick and Easy Vietnamese) with another on the way. Please read more about her and keep an eye out for her new book at http://www.nanciemcdermott.com/index.htm. Nancie also runs her own blog http://nanciemcdermott.wordpress.com.  You can find her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NancieMcDermott and Twitter @nanciemac.  

What's going on, you ask?

Another busy month is coming to a close, so I thought I’d get you caught up before getting into a new post, especially since it's an important topic.

I started a new semester at Wake Tech where I’m teaching the Cooking Fundamentals course as well as From Brunswick Stew to Manhattan Clam Chowder. The latter is an idea I’ve been kicking around and dabbling in for a while now. I’ve taught a couple of individual classes at A Southern Season on the topic and they were well received (they sold out, too!). So, I decided to dedicate a whole course to the subject. It’s been fun, challenging, and a great learning opportunity for me.

I’ve also tried to embrace a few more social media sites; Twitter and Linked In specifically. I’m starting to wonder if I’m just wasting time or truly sowing seeds though.

I also made the cover of the new A Southern Season CLASS booklet. Come “Grill & Smoke” with me on 4/14/12 or bring your children for a Father’s Day special: “Dad and Me in the Kitchen” for some fun and tasty bonding on 6/10/12!

https://www.southernseason.com/class/department.asp?id=51