2013 Final Fire Reservations open TODAY at 7:00 pm

2013 Final Fire Reservations open TODAY at 7:00 pm
Are YOU Ready to Judge?

The knives have been drawn and the heat is on. The Got To Be N.C. Competition Dining Series is heading to Raleigh for Final Fire: Battle of Champions, presented by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Pate Dawson-Southern Foods.

Reservations open TODAY at 7:00 pm but availability is limited. Be a part of the Competition Dining Series and support your favorite N.C. chefs as they go head-to-head in a knockdown, drag-out, six-course, blind dinner judged by YOU, the diner.

Download the "Competition Dining" voting app now on your iPhone or Android device. YOUR VOTE COUNTS.

Help determine our statewide champion in Final Fire, where the winning chefs of all five series: Fire on the Rock, Dock, Triad, Triangle and City will vie for the championship title.

Follow the links below to keep up with all the action! All battles will be held at the Renaissance Raleigh North Hills Hotel. All dinners start at 6:30 pm.

When you book your stay at the Renaissance Raleigh North Hills Hotel, tell them you are coming for The Final Fire. There will be a special offer to guests of Competition Dining for a room rate of $169/night at the Renaissance. This offer will only be available until Nov. 4. When the Renaissance is completely booked, reservations will also be available at the Hyatt House Raleigh North Hills.

PICK YOUR BATTLES

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Click here to buy yours today. Remember events sell out fast, so don't delay!

Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series Announces Chefs and Brackets for Final Fire: Battle of the Champions

The statewide chef competition highlighting the best of NC’s food, agriculture and culinary talent hits the road in November to Raleigh, NC for Final Fire. It’s the only contest where THE DINERS get to judge. Reservations for each night of food and fun open Oct. 30 at 7 pm online at http://www.competitiondining.com/events/final-fire.

Raleigh, NC (Oct. 23, 2013) The Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series announces the participating chefs and brackets in the Final Fire competition. Final Fire will conclude the statewide chef competition and determine NC’s champion. Reservations open Oct. 30 at 7 pm online at http://www.competitiondining.com/events/final-fire. The four competitive dinners will be hosted at Renaissance Raleigh North Hills Hotel at 4100 Main at North Hills St., Raleigh; http://goo.gl/giPDmL.

The series begins on Nov. 20 and concludes on Nov. 23. The Got To Be NC Competition Dining Champions from Asheville, Wilmington, the Triad, the Triangle and Charlotte will compete. The chef brackets were announced yesterday at the Philip L. Van Every Culinary Arts Center at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte. The chefs drew knives to determine the preliminary match-ups, which are listed below with each chef leading a team of three:

Nov. 20: Noble’s Grille, Winston-Salem (John Bobby) vs. Mimosa Grill, Charlotte (Jon Fortes)
Nov. 21: Flights at Renaissance Raleigh Hotel, Raleigh (Dean Thompson) vs. winner of Nov. 20
Nov. 22: Persimmons Restaurant, New Bern (Gerry Fong) vs. Red Stag Grill, Asheville (Adam Hayes)
Nov. 23: Battle between winner of Nov. 21 and Nov. 22

Event reservations cost $119 each excluding beverage, tax and service charge. Diners can attend as many dinners as they like. Reservations open online on October 30 at 7 pm at http://www.competitiondining.com/events/final-fire. Event organizers expect the finals to sell out in 24 hours.

At stake in Final Fire is $4,000, a hand-forged set of knives from Charlotte-based Ironman Forge and a trip to Napa Valley, CA to the pro chef program at the CIA Greystone campus, compliments of Kikkoman. The runner-up receives $1,000.

Now in its second year, The Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series has become a statewide movement. Because all people are chefs, farmers, and diners, the event’s mission is to connect and celebrate this community with a dynamic, entertaining experience.

Sponsors include the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Pate Dawson-Southern Foods, OUR STATE Magazine, Certified Angus Beef®, Pepsi Bottling Ventures and Swisher Hygiene.

HOW IT WORKS: Paying guests will savor each course in a blind tasting alongside a panel of culinary and celebrity judges in a series of four dinner competitions. Each evening, two restaurants “battle” it out side-by-side in a single elimination format. Guests savor a six-course menu (three dishes from each chef without knowing whose food they’re tasting) created around a “featured” ingredient. For each dinner, the ingredient will come from a North Carolina farmer or artisan producer. The featured ingredient is revealed to the chefs only an hour before they start cooking, and it must be used in each of the three courses.

Diners, alongside culinary and guest judges, will rate each dish and determine who moves on to the next round and who goes home.

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For more information, contact Kristen Baughman at (919) 750-5712 mobile or kbaughman@pdco.com (PR Specialist); or Susan Dosier at (704) 993-7871 mobile or susan@DKcommunicationsgroup.com (PR Consultant).
www.competitiondining.com offers event dates, ticket sales, and bios on participating chefs
www.facebook.com/competitiondining offers daily news and updates, photos of chef dishes and more
www.youtube.com/user/CompDiningNC shares videos of the winner after each competition, video bios on each chef and more
www.Twitter.com/compdiningnc uses the hashtag #compdiningnc to enjoy the fun, ongoing conversation

Chef Jon Fortes of Mimosa Grill Wins Battle Cheese and Honey

Chef Jon Fortes of Mimosa Grill defeated Chef Phil Barnes of Rooster's Wood-Fired Kitchen in Battle Cheese and Honey. Heidi Billotto has the recap of the evening on her blog.

Chef Jon Fortes of Mimosa Grill Wins Fire In the City Competition Dining Series™

A technical glitch delayed the announcement of winners until 10 am this morning, yet the crowd at Bonterra Dining & Wine Room left appreciative of the food and skill shared by Fortes and Chef Phil Barnes of Rooster’s Wood-Fired Kitchen.

IMAGES AVAILABLE ON FLICKR 

Charlotte, NC (Oct. 22, 2013) At the end of a 16-dinner competitive series featuring top Charlotte area chefs, Jimmy Crippen named Chef Jon Fortes of Mimosa Grill in uptown Charlotte the Champion of Got To Be NC Competition Dining Fire in the City Series. “Battle Cheese and Honey” saw Fortes edge out Chef Phil Barnes of Rooster’s Wood-Fired Kitchen in Charlotte, N.C.

Chef Fortes was announced as the winner and given the event’s signature red chef jacket in an announcement this morning at Central Piedmont Community College. The event ended dramatically last night at Bonterra Dining & Wine Room. All ballots were committed, but a technical glitch prevented the scores from being accessed. The team from Hits Tech worked through the night to access the scores and tabulate the winner, and no scores were lost.

“Throughout two years of the statewide competition, this is the first time we’ve ever had a technical issue of any kind. It’s my worst nightmare,” said Jimmy Crippen, host and founder of the event. “I want to ensure everyone that the scores submitted by our pro judges and diners are the scores that they submitted. This was a close contest, and these numbers are authentic and correct.”

Crippen continues, “I also want the Charlotte community to know what great chef talent we have here. This has been a terrific host community for us. Charlotte should be very proud, and your champion will represent you well at Final Fire.”

The final scores and are posted at http://www.competitiondining.com/results/roosters-v-mimosa-grill.

Chef Jon Fortes and teammates took home the trophy, a $2000 check and a handmade chef knife made by Charlotte-based Ironman Forge in addition to the coveted red chef’s jacket. The $2000 check was presented by Mac Sullivan, chief executive officer of Pate Dawson-Southern Foods (lead sponsor of the event) and Jimmy Crippen.

Last night’s Fire in the City challenged the chefs to use two featured North Carolina ingredients: Looking Glass Creamery’s Chocolate Lab cheese from Fairview, N.C. and St. Dominic’s honey from Mayodan, N.C. The chefs were required to use cheese and honey in each of their three courses for 130 diners. The chefs are not told what the featured ingredients will be until noon on the day they compete.

Both chefs rose to the occasion. Chef Fortes’ first course was St. Dominic’s Honey Bourbon Sweet Potato “Risotto,” Looking Glass Creamery Chocolate Lab Pimento Cheese, Whipped Honey Collard Kraut, Pork Confit Slider and Chocolate Lab Old Fashioned Southern Squash Casserole with Crispy Bacon. He followed with Fried Wanchese NC Shrimp, Looking Glass Creamery Chocolate Lab Smoked Tomato & Crab Risotto, St. Dominic’s Honey Poblano Relish and Pure Wild Honey Butter. The dessert course included Looking Glass Creamery Chocolate Lab Cornmeal Cake, Autumn Spiced St. Dominic’s Honey Apples and Almond Honey Semifreddo.

Chef Barnes’ highest scoring dish of the night was the St. Dominic’s Honey Glazed Cheshire Pork Belly, Braised Honey Collards, Looking Glass Creamery Chocolate Lab Sweet Potato Puree, Candied Fennel and Chocolate Lab Tuille.

Professional culinary judges for the evening included Mark Allison, Dean of Culinary Education from Johnson & Wales University; Bob Boll, Division Director of Central Piedmont Community College's Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, and Baking and Pastry Arts programs; Dayvee Sutton from WCNC; and Terrance Bates from WCCB Charlotte. Their votes were weighted at 30 percent. The dining public's votes were weighted at 70 percent.

The 2013 Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series' winning chefs from each region were also in attendance. Official event blogger, Heidi Billotto joined the judges as a non-voting guest. Her summary of the event will post soon at http://heidibillottofood.com/.

Chef Jon Fortes will now compete Nov. 20-23 in Raleigh, N.C. at Final Fire: Battle of the Champions against the Got To Be NC Competition Dining Champions from Asheville, Wilmington, the Triad and the Triangle. Final Fire tickets go on sale online on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.

ABOUT GOT TO BE NC COMPETITION DINING SERIES™

The Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series, in its second year, is part of a larger movement. With a focus on chefs, farmers, and diners, the event’s mission is to connect and celebrate this unique community through a dynamic, entertaining dining experience. Each statewide competition features 16 chefs and 15 single-elimination dinner battles judged by the public. Fire in the City is part of the Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series.

Statewide sponsors for the event include the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Pate Dawson-Southern Foods, OUR STATE Magazine, Certified Angus Beef, Pepsi Bottling Ventures and Swisher Hygiene.

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For more information, contact Kristen Baughman at (919) 750-5712 mobile or kbaughman@pdco.com (PR Specialist) or Susan Dosier at (704) 993-7871 mobile or susan@DKcommunicationsgroup.com (PR Consultant)

www.competitiondining.com offers event dates, ticket sales, and bios on participating chefs
www.facebook.com/competitiondining offers daily news and updates, photos of chef dishes and more
www.youtube.com/user/CompDiningNC shares videos of the winner after each competition, video bios on each chef and more

www.Twitter.com/compdiningnc uses the hashtag #compdiningnc to enjoy the fun, ongoing conversation

Chef Jon Fortes of Mimosa Grill Wins Battle "Pig 'n Pumpkin"

Chef Jon Fortes of Mimosa Grill defeated Chef Luca Annunziata of Passion 8 Bistro in Battle "Pig 'n Pumpkin." Our official blogger, Heidi Billotto has the recap on her blog.

Chef Phil Barnes of Rooster's Wins Battle Squash ‘N Swine

Chef Phil Barnes of Rooster's defeated Chef Brent Martin of the Peculiar Rabbit in Battle Squash 'N Swine. The secret ingredients were Pope & Son Farms' Winter Squash and Cheshire Pork Butts and Loins. Check out Heidi Billotto Food for the recap of the evening.

Chef Luca Annunziate of Passion8 Bistro Wins Battle NC Fogwood Shiitake mushrooms and fresh made First Noodle Company noodles

Chef Luca Annunziate of Passion8 Bistro defeated Chef Vincent Giancarlo of Cantina 1511 in Battle NC Fogwood Shiitake mushrooms and fresh made First Noodle Company noodles. Our official blogger, Heidi Billotto has all of the details on her blog.

Chef Jon Fortes of Mimosa Grill Wins Battle Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Copper Amber Ale

Chef Jon Fortes of Mimosa Grill defeated Chef Brian Mottola in Battle Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Copper Amber Ale. Read the recap of the evening on Heidi Billotto's blog.

Chef Brent Martin of Peculiar Rabbit Wins Battle Lusty Monk Mustard

Chef Brent Martin of Peculiar Rabbit defeated Chef Nicholas Daniels of Wooden Vine in Battle Lusty Monk Mustard. Read all of the juicy details at Heidi Billotto's blog.

Chef Phil Barnes of Rooster's Wins Battle High Rock Farm Chestnuts and TOPO Carolina Whiskey

Chef Phil Barnes of Rooster’s defeated Chef David Moore of Gallery Restaurant in Battle High Rock Farm Chestnuts and TOPO Carolina Whiskey. Check out Heidi Billotto's blog for all of the details.