Coming Up Next Week

This week is the last of the first round, with the winners moving on to the next round of the competition.

On Tuesday, we have a battle between Chef Sam Ratchford from Vidalia Restaurant & Wine Bar and Cafe Portofino's Chef Matt Martin.  The winner will compete on March 13th with the winner of Battle Ashley Farms Guinea Fowl, Chef Monte Weber.

Wednesday night, Chef Matt Franklin from Jackalope's View will battle Storie Street Grille's Chef Andrew Long. The winner will move on to compete March 14th with Chef Michael Foreman, the winner of Battle Cinnamon and Lavender.

                      






Good luck Chefs!


To make your reservations, please visit the Fire on the Rock website Here

This Week's Results

There were two battles at Fire on the Rock this week: Battle Certified Angus Beef® and Battle Ashe County Cheese. 


On Tuesday, Chef Guy Thomas from Glidewell's took the win in Battle Certified Angus Beef®. Thomas will move on to compete with Chef Jessica Grogan, the winner of Battle Stokes Purple Sweet Potato, on March 6th. 

On Wednesday, we had Battle Ashe County Cheese, where Chef Gina Paolucci and the Paolucci's Italian Bar and Grill team were victorious. They will compete again on March 7th against the winner from Battle Carolina Classic Catfish, Chef James Welch.

Congratulations Chefs!


For more information on the menu this past week and upcoming battles, check out the Fire on the Rock website. Click Here

Coming Up This Week...

Fire on the Rock took a break last week for Valentines Day and we're ready to get back in the game! So what's on the agenda?

Tomorrow night, Glidewell's Chef Guy Thomas will face off against Chef Matt Barlowe from Table at Crestwood.  The winner will move on to March 16th, where they will compete against Jessica Grogan, the fierce competitor who won Battle Stokes Purple Sweet Potato on January 31st.

           

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On Wednesday night, Chef Gina Paolucci from Paolucci's Italian Bar and Grill will compete against 1861 Farmhouse's Chef Randall Isaacs. The winner of this challenge will go on to compete on March 7th, where they will face the winner of Battle Carolina Classic Catfish, Chef James Welch.




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Be the first to find out the winners and see the action first-hand! 

Follow this link to make your reservations... Click here

Feb 7-8 Judges

 

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. As food editor for Charlotte Living Magazine, Heidi is always on top of the Charlotte and regional dining scene, making restaurant suggestions and covering all kinds of culinary destinations. She is a frequent guest on WCNC’s Charlotte Today and WBTV’s The Morning Show in addition to many Charlotte radio shows.

     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!!

This Week's Recap

This week there were two challenges at Fire on the Rock: Battle Guinea Fowl and Battle Lavender and Cinnamon. There were some very tasty and creative dishes brought to the table this week, including Guinea Fowl Flautas with salsa fresco, Nicoise Spring Rolls with Guinea Fowl Confit, Cinnamon-braised Pork Belly and Grilled Pork Tenderloin with lavender potato puree, and German Apple Cake with lavender-buttermilk ice cream. Four amazing chefs competed this week, but only two will move on to the next challenge. Those two chefs are Monte Weber and Michael Foreman.


Monte Weber and the Painted Fish team took the win in the Guinea Fowl challenge. Chef Weber will compete again on March 13th where he will face the winner of the Feb. 28th challenge.

Michael Foreman from Bistro Roca was the winner of the Lavender and Cinnamon battle. He will compete on March 14th against the winner from the Feb 29th challenge.