1. field

    Dishing It Out

    Chef Michael Foreman gives instructions

  2. field

    Opening Salvo

    Secret Ingredient: Purple Sweet Potatos!

  3. field

    The Hungry Troops

    Ready for the next course

  4. field

    X Marks the Spot

    Creativity is the name of the game

  5. field

    The Field Marshall

    Emcee Jimmy Crippen announces the winner

  6. field

    The Battle Wagon

    Honk if you see us on the road!

  7. field

    Women on the Line

    Chef Jessica Grogan fields the first all-female team

  8. field

    Quiet on the Front

    The calm before the storm

  9. field

    Parting Shot

    Chef Joshua Woo finishes with an indulgent dessert

Reservations

The “Got To Be NC” Competition Dining Series is unlike any other dinner experience in the country! Taste course-by-course during a series of 15 dinner competitions hosted in four regions of the state throughout the year. Each evening, two restaurants “battle” it out side by side in a single elimination, “Iron Chef”-style format. As our guest, you get to savor a six-course menu (three courses from each chef without knowing whose food you’re tasting) created around a “secret” North Carolina ingredient. The secret ingredient is revealed to the chefs only an hour before they start cooking and it must be used in each of their three courses.

Here’s the twist: You decide the winner! Diners, alongside culinary and guest judges, will rate each dish and determine who moves to the next round and who goes home. At stake in each series is a grand prize of $2,000 and a coveted “Red Chef Jacket.” Blowing Rock, Wilmington, Raleigh, and Greensboro host this year’s high-pressure series. Tickets for each dinner cost $49 excluding beverage and tax. Tickets for semifinal and final rounds are $59. Join us for as many dinners as you like. Be sure to order tickets for the final dinners early as they will fill up fast. For more information on each series or to purchase tickets today, click on the individual event links to the right. The kitchen is heating up—it’s time to “Grill or BE Grilled!”

The “Got To Be NC” Competition Dining Series is a brand new event sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Southern Foods/Pate Dawson, Our State magazine and local partners in each region of the state. The goal of the series is to celebrate local North Carolina products and agriculture and to showcase the culinary ingenuity and talent across our state. Learn more about our sponsors.

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Tonight's winner in a close match full of friendly, delicious competition is Gerry Fong of Persimmons in New Bern #CompDiningNC #ilm @CompDiningNC

Dish 6: Frozen Creamsicle Mousse on a Chocolate Tuille w/ Candied Beef Skewer #CompDiningNC #ilm t.co/tYViQw4C @CompDiningNC

Dish 5: Olde Time Minced Meat Pie w/ Dark Chocolate Whipped Cream & Apricot Gastrique #CompDiningNC #ilm t.co/EyzNSQUv @CompDiningNC

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