Chef Creighton McNeil of Liberty Oak in Greensboro wins Battle Goat Cheese

Chef Creighton McNeil of Liberty Oak defeated Chef Christian Froelich of WS Prime in Battle Goat Cheese. Read Nik Snacks latest blog for a recap of the evening's battle.

Chef Tim Thompson of Marisol in Greensboro wins Battle Moonshine

Chef Tim Thompson of Marisol won over the diners in Battle Moonshine. Chef Travis Myers of River Birch Lodge in Winston-Salem put up a strong fight in the Competition Dining kitchen. Check out Nik Snacks blog for a recap of the evening.

Chef Timothy Bocholis of Bistro B wins Battle Strawberries

Chef Timothy Bocholis of Bistro B defeats Chef Chris Russell of B. Christopher's in Battle Strawberries. Check out Nik Snack's latest blog for a recap of the evening.

Chef Mark Grohman of Meridian wins Battle Certified Angus Beef

Chef Mark Grohman of Meridian defeated Chef Mack Parker of Diamondback Grill in Battle Certified Angus Beef. Check out Nik Snacks blog for the recap of last night's battle.

Chef Juan Guzman of J. Pepper's in Kernersville wins Battle Pepsi

Chef Kristina Fuller of the new Greensboro restaurant, Crafted put up a fight against Chef Juan Guzman of J. Pepper's in Kernersville. Read Nik Snacks blog for the recap of last night's Battle Pepsi.

Chef Greg John of the Greensboro Country Club Appears on WFMY's Good Morning Show

Chef Greg John of the Greensboro Country Club appeared on the WFMY's Good Morning Show Monday. Watch the video here for his recreations of two dishes he made during the Competition Dining Series.

Chef John Bobby of Noble's Grille wins Battle Ostrich

Battle of the Winston-Salem Titans quickly turned into Battle Ostrich once the secret N.C. ingredient was revealed. Chef John Bobby of Noble's Grille defeated Chef Tim Grandinetti of Spring House Restaurant, Kitchen & Bar in this battle of creativity and heart. Read Nik Snacks blog about Battle Ostrich for more details.

Chef Gregory John of Greensboro Country Club wins Battle Grits & Mustard

The second preliminary Fire in the Triad dinner took place Wednesday night. Chef Gregory John of Greensboro Country Club defeated Chef Jared Keiper of The Tavern in Old Salem in Battle Grits and Mustard. Read the latest blog post from Nik Snacks for a recap of the evening.

Southern Roots Prevails in Battle Poulet Rouge

Nik Snacks will be providing nightly recaps of the Fire in the Triad battles. Read her latest blog about Battle Poulet Rouge, Southern Roots v. Undercurrent. Chef Wes Patterson of Southern Roots prevailed in this battle of creativity and comfort food.

Red Stag Grill’s Adam Hayes Crowned “Got To Be N.C.” Competition Dining Series Fire on the Rock Champion

Hayes will advance to the Final Fire championship in November

The heat was on April 30 as two of Western N.C.’s premier chefs battled it out during the “Got To Be N.C.” Competition Dining Series Fire on the Rock finals. Chef Adam Hayes and his team from Asheville’s Red Stag Grill took home the bragging rights after six fierce courses split with Vidalia’s Sam Ratchford of Blowing Rock.

The competition was certainly fiery between the two WNC chefs—in one of the closest Competition Dining battles yet, the winner was determined by merely three-tenths of a point. At the end, Hayes took home the coveted “Red Chef Jacket,” and will advance to the Final Fire series in November 2013 to vie for the 2013 championship title and a cash prize.

At Blowing Rock’s Meadowbrook Inn & Suites, over 120 diners immersed themselves in the night of deliciousness while they eagerly awaited the final results from event host and founder, Jimmy Crippen. Crippen discussed the day’s events with each chef before revealing the scores for all six courses.

Competition Dining challenges the chefs to use featured ingredients grown or produced in North Carolina.  This battle, Old Mill of Guilford Grits and Midnight Moon Moonshine were the chosen components to bewitch the judges and a full house of diners. The chefs were required to use both ingredients in all three dishes, and were not privy to the secret ingredients until noon on competition day.

Both chefs came to impress. Hayes’ first dish was a spicy tempura lobster crab roll, that featured grit “rice” and a collard green wrap, N.C. shrimp ceviche, sugar snap, carrot and shiitake cashew salad, blueberry moonshine mirin, and Annatto chilli oil. He followed that with his highest scoring dish, his blueberry moonshine brined venison tenderloin, which had a Southwestern rub and was served with chipotle golden grits with Ashe County Cheddar, crispy broccolini, blueberry moonshine demi, and basil-mint chimchurri. He finished the competition with a moonshine crispy rice treat that featured strawberry moonshine panna cotta, sweet grit cream, Guilford Grit meringue, moonshine macerated fruits, and a blueberry moonshine balsamic glaze.

Ratchford claimed the highest scoring dish of the night with a rosemary thyme smoked pork tenderloin finished with a blueberry moonshine barbeque sauce, and accompanied by strawberry moonshine Brussels and snow pea slaw, rapini yellow grit remoulade and sweet potato grit crouton.

Diners and culinary judges alike cast their votes through the new “Competition Dining” voting app, available on Apple and Android mobile devices, which allowed them to rate each dish as it was presented. Diners and judges without smartphones filled out voting ballots during dinner.

The heat of the competition will continue May 14 as sixteen of the Triad’s best chefs battle it out during Fire in the Triad in Greensboro at the Empire room. Interested in attending? Tickets can only be purchased at http://www.competitiondining.com/events/fire-in-the-triad.