We had some wonderful judges at Fire on the Rock this week who we would like to thank. This past Tuesday, we had Randy
Johnson, Lynn Stallworth, and David Roger. On Wednesday we were joined
by judges Heidi Billotto and Dr. Gaila Hogdin. Learn more about each of
these judges below.
Randy Johnson
is a mountain man with a national travel and outdoor writing
reputation. He is currently the Travel Editor of National Parks
Traveler. In the past, he was editor-in-chief of Hemispheres, the
award-winning inflight travel magazine for United Airlines. He is also
the author of many regional trail guides including HIKING NC and HIKING
THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY. Many of you may know him as the founding editor
of the THE MOUNTAIN TIMES.
Randy
moved to the Boone area in 1978 to launch the Grandfather Mountain
trail management program that helped this High Country landmark become a
UN-designated International Biosphere Reserve and later a state park.
Over the years, Randy helped forge the Parkway trail system at
Grandfather, while reopening Blowing Rock’s Glen Burney Trail and
designing a portion of the Mountains-To-Sea Trail.
For
this week's "Fire On The Rock," Randy brought his experience reviewing
and exploring restaurants all over the world for his travel writing.
Learn more about Randy at his website:
www.randyjohnsonbooks.com Check out National Parks Traveler Web magazine at www.nationalparkstraveler.com.
Lynn Stallworth
also lives in the Boone area. She's just returned from Food Blog South
in Birmingham, Alabama, one of the top food blogging conferences in
America. Lynn is a busy mom AND STUDENT with two teenagers in her house.
She couldn't wait to actually sit still during this week's competition!
You can learn more about Lynn and her cravings and cooking at
www.anothermarvelousmeal.com.
David Rogers is
editor and publisher of the Blowing Rock News at
www.blowingrocknews.com. This online magazine has faithfully covered
FIRE ON THE ROCK since its inception with the fastest updates and
publishing schedule in the High Country. You will likely see David at
every single competition. We asked him to weigh in from a
culinary perspective, and you're likely to hear what it was like for him
in his coverage online.
Heidi Billotto
is a food writer and editor, a cooking instructor, caterer and Charlotte media
personality.
She
teaches cooking classes at Reid’s Fine Foods located in Charlotte’s Myers Park
neighborhood and also hosts classes in her home. She offers a monthly culinary
series called “On the Farm” where she teaches at local farms in and around the
Queen City.
Her
blog is http://heidibillottoblogsrestaurants.blogspot.com, and also check out www.charlotteliving.com for her work.
DR. Gaila
Hodgin is a
Culinary Arts teacher at Avery High School in Newland, NC. Her creative,
dedicated students have won state and national recognition for their
outstanding performance at high school competitions in North Carolina and
throughout the country.
Many of her
students have gone on to attend culinary school. In fact, one student graduated
from Cordon Bleu in Paris and now works professionally in Oregon.
She has
served in many leadership capacities, both at her school and in her profession.
She’s
served as Secretary for the High Country Chef and Cooks Association, part of the
American Culinary Federation and as Secretary of the Culinary, Hospitality,
Tourism, Educators Alliance--a state group that serves to bring educators and
business people together.
Dr. Hodgin
brought an impressive collegiate record with her when she relocated from
Greensboro, North Carolina to the mountains. She served as an
administrator and professor at UNC-G’s School of Home Economics and Education
and has also taught at the University of South Carolina and at Hood College in
Frederick, MD.
Thanks to all of these outstanding judges for giving up their time to judge FIRE ON THE ROCK!!
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