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Dining Competition ‘Fire on the Rock’ Features Sam Ratchford of Vidalia, Edwin Bloodworth of Gamekeeper

imgres-2Feb. 6, 2014. The Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series, Fire on the Rock, announces the participating chefs in the competition. The seven competitive dinners will be hosted at the Lioncrest at Biltmore located at 1 Lodge Street in Asheville. 

The series begins on March 10 and concludes on March 31. Chefs from across western NC were invited to apply for the competition. The final eight contenders were announced today during the Media Day Kick-Off Party hosted at Highland dBrewing Company. The preliminary match-ups are listed below with each chef heading a team of three:

  • March 10: Vidalia, Boone (Samuel Ratchford) vs. Strada Italiano, Asheville (Anthony Cerrato)
  • March 11: ISIS Restaurant and Music Hall, Asheville (Mike Mahoney) vs. Season’s at Highland Lake Inn & Resort, Flat Rock (Michelle Bailey)
  • March 17: Gamekeeper Restaurant & Bar, Boone (Edwin Bloodworth) vs. Ambrozia Bar & Bistro, Asheville (Sam Etheridge)
  • March 18: King James Public House, Asheville (Steven Goff) vs. Lexington Avenue Brewery, Asheville (Michael Fisera)
  • March 24: Battle between winner of March 10 and March 11 (semifinals)
  • March 25: Battle between winner of March 17 and March 18 (semifinals)
  • March 31: Battle between winner of March 24 and March 25 (finals)

Fire on the Rock also announced a new partnership with the Downtown Welcome Table based in Asheville, NC. The Downtown Welcome Table serves lunch at the Haywood Street Congregation every Wednesday to hundreds of community members in need. Inspired by the Asheville restaurants that have come together to support the Downtown Welcome Table, Fire on the Rock will support this organization during this series. For every ticket sold at Fire on the Rock events, the Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series will donate a meal to the Downtown Welcome Table for a person in need. In addition, dining guests will also have the option of making additional monetary donations when they purchase tickets to Fire on the Rock.

The Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series is part of a larger movement. Because we are all chefs, farmers, or diners, ourmission is to connect and celebrate this community through a dynamic, entertaining experience.

Sponsors include the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Pate Dawson-Southern Foods, Certified Angus Beef®, Pepsi Bottling Ventures, and the NC Wine & Grape Council.

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 seven 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. At stake in each series is a grand prize of $2,000, a handmade chef knife by Ironman Forge in Charlotte, and the coveted “Red Chef Jacket.” The runner-up receives $500. Reservations for dinners cost $59 excluding beverage, tax and tip. Reservations for the semi-finals and final are $69. Diners can attend as many dinners as they like. Reservations open now at www.competitiondining.com. Hurry. Reservations go fast.

For more information:

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

www.Instagram.com/compdiningnc shares photos of the chefs, dishes and more