Port City Foodies- "And the secret ingredient is…"

Port City Foodies on Battle Eggs.

Follow this link to the blog:
http://foodies.blogs.starnewsonline.com/26917/and-the-secret-ingredient-is%E2%80%A6/

Indy Week - "When in doubt, a crisp white is the best bet"

Indy Week on Competition Dining.

Follow the link to the article:
http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/when-in-doubt-a-crisp-white-is-the-best-bet/Content?oid=3054469

The Daily Dish - Is Everything Really Better With Chocolate?

Liz Biro dishes on Battle Milk and Chocolate in her blog:

http://lizbirodailydish.com/is-everything-really-better-with-chocolate/

Week 4 at Fire on the Dock

We have two battles coming up this week at Fire on the Dock.

Tuesday night, we have Chef Clarke Merrell from Circa 81 battling Chef Anthony Garnett from Coral Bay Club. According to Chef Merrell, the North Carolina ingredients he uses "are in almost every dish I make.  Using NC ingredients means being a part of a community and supporting local farmers, fishermen, and artisans.  There is something magical about serving a fish that was just swimming only hours ago, or eating fresh produce that was just harvested from the field." Chef Garnett's cooking style is "Regional American cuisine with LOTS of seafood--all kinds of seafood cooked lots of different ways." He uses " The daily catch from our local seafood market.  We also buy local trout, shrimp, and as many NC oysters we can get our hands on.  We even make our own sea salt and buy organic bell peppers from a tiny farm nearby." The winner of Tuesday night's battle will move on to compete on May 8th with our winner from Battle Bison, Chef Marc Copenhaver.

Chef Clarke Merrell

Chef Anthony Garnett

Wednesday night, Chef Kirsten Mitchell from Cameo 1900 will battle Chef Charin Choti from Big Thai in an already sold-out competition. Chef Mitchell's cooking style is  "Simple and sophisticated, but also very diverse." Chef Choti's competitive advantage is his "X-factor."  All of the chefs in our competition praise his incredible kitchen skills, but no one can anticipate the kind of creative flair he will bring to the battles.  Not being a native English speaker, he naturally keeps all of his cards close to his vest! The winner of Wednesday night's battle will compete again on May 9th with Chef Kyle McKnight, the winner from Battle Curry.

Chef Kirsten Mitchell

Chef Charin Choti

Good luck this week chefs!

Daily Dish- "Crackling Candy, Chocolate Bacon and Sugar-Coated Pork Rinds"

Liz Biro from the Daily Dish talks Battle Heritage Farms Premium Pork.

Follow this link to the blog: http://lizbirodailydish.com

Electronic voting aids competition dining- The Greater Wilmington Businsess Journal

 Please follow the link for the full article from The Greater Wilmington Business Journal.

http://wilmingtonbiz.com/industry_news_details.php?id=3492

Coming up this week at Fire on the Dock

Fire on the Dock took a break last week as we crowned our winner in the High Country, but the battles in Wilmington resume tomorrow. Good luck to our chefs this week!

On Tuesday night, Chef Andy Hopper from Chefs 105 will battle Chef Jacob Hilbert from Manna. Chef Hopper describes his competitive advantage as "the fact that I have traveled the country and overseas to study at some of the greatest restaurants including The Four Seasons Resort and Troon North in Scottsdale, and the acclaimed Spiaggia Restaurant in Chicago. I am also a multiple-time winner of several local culinary competitions." When asked about the local ingredients Chef Hilbert likes to use, he replied, "Anything available that we can get our hands on!  We incorporate local produce, charcuterie, meats, seafood, and specialty goods into our dishes."

Chef Jacob Hilbert

Chef Andy Hopper

Wednesday night, Chef Silvierio "Smokey" Masters from Pine Valley Market will compete against Chef Gerry Fong from Persimmons. According to Chef Masters,  his competitive advantage is "how quick I am on my feet in the kitchen.  As a caterer, I know how to adapt to many different situations quickly and with success." Chef Fong describes his cooking style as "an intricate twist of my Chinese ancestry and Southern NC upbringing.  I use classical French technique to bring flavors together"

Chef Gerry Fong

Chef Silvierio "Smokey" Masters

Recap April 3-4

We had some great battles this week at Fire on the Dock!

On Tuesday, Chef Marc Copenhaver of Marc's on Market took the win in Battle Bison. Chef Copenhaver will move on to compete again on May 8th. Wednesday night Chef Kyle McKnight and the Swim with the Fish team were the winners of Battle Curry. Chef McKnight will battle again on May 9th.

Chef Marc Copenhaver

Chef Kyle McKnight

Thanks to all of our wonderful judges this week! We had our head judge Liz Biro from The Daily Dish, Alison Satake from Wilma Magazine and The Greater Wilmington Business Journal, Nina Bays Cournoyer from Wilma Magazine and The Greater Wilmington Business Journal, wine consultant/sommelier Chris Thompson, and Ashlea Kosikowski from WECT-TV and Fox Wilmington News.

April 3-4 at Fire on the Dock

For tonight's competition, we have Chef James Doss from Rx versus Chef Marc Copenhaver from Marc's on Market.  According to Chef Doss, his competitive advantage is "The fact that I am a local chef that was trained in Wilmington.  I also spent a year and a half working with a James Beard award winning Chef who competed in 'Iron Chef America.'" Chef Copenhaver's competitive advantage is "The fact that I have been an undefeated champion in other chef competitions.  Our restaurant is continuously ranked as one of Southeast NC's finest and we've even won third place in the 2011 NC Best Dish Competition."

Chef Marc Copenhaver

Chef James Doss

On Wednesday, Chef Kyle McKnight from Swim w/ the Fish will compete against Chef Zackery Grant from The Pilot House.  Chef McKnight's cooking style is "Learned French with a strong Southern and Germanic influence." Chef Grant's cooking style is "Classic Southern with a French and Asian twist."

Chef Kyle McKnight

Chef Zachery Grant

Good luck chefs!

Week 2 of Fire on the Dock- Port City Foodies

 Port City Foodies talks week 2 of Fire on the Dock.

Visit the Port City Foodies blog to see the article: http://foodies.blogs.starnewsonline.com/26570/week-2-of-fire-on-the-dock/?Title=Week-2-of-Fire-on-the-Dock