TerraVita Food & Drink Event announces 2014 schedule; tickets on sale July 20

The fifth annual TerraVita Food & Drink Event today announced a blockbuster schedule for its Oct. 9-11 run. Among its highlights will be the North Carolina premiere of the second season of A Chef's Life, the award-winning PBS series featuring Vivian Howard of Kinston's Chef and the Farmer restaurant.

Tickets for all festival events go on sale July 20 through the TerraVita website

The event is larger and spread among more locations this year. A limited number of three-day passes ($425 each) will provide access to bonus non-tickets events and parties, including: 

• an afternoon event at [ONE] restaurant in Chapel Hill with Chefs Kim Floresca and Daniel Ryan and two additional North Carolina chefs – Vivian Howard from Chef and Farmer in Kinston and Scott Crawford of Standard Foods and Nash Tavern in Raleigh
• a hands-on bread baking class led by Lionel Vatinet of La Farm Bakery and author of A Passion for Bread: Lessons from a Master Baker 
• and a special TerraVita After Party at The Black House at Straw Valley in Durham with Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer and Chef Adam Rose

The Southern Harvest Dinner on Oct. 9, will bring together chefs and producers from across the Southeast for an outdoor feast at Southern Season in Chapel Hill. The meal will be prepared by Weathervane Chef Spencer Carter and Chef Kevin Johnson from The Grocery in Charleston, S.C., in collaboration with Border Spring Farms’ Craig Rogers. Rogers' grass-fed lamb will be featured in a casual dinner paired with craft beers, sustainable wines and live music. Tickets are $85 each.

Following the dinner will be the North Carolina premiere of A Chef's Life. Vivian Howard will be joined by the directors, producers, staff and stars of the show, which recently was awarded a Peabody Award. It also had been nominated for honors by the James Beard Foundation.

Ashley Christensen

The Sustainable Classroom, which sets TerraVita apart from so many other food and drink festivals, will be held on Oct. 10. the program features concurrent culinary workshops, food and beverage tasting, demonstrations and topic-expert panel discussions. Among the presenters will be Raleigh Chef Ashley Christensen, who was named 2104 Best Chef Southeast by the James Beard Foundation.  Participants may choose to attend up to three 75-minute sessions, which will start at 9:30am. Each ticket costs $60 and includes 3 classes.

Also on Oct. 10 will be The Carolina Table: East Meets West, TerraVita’s celebration of the rich culinary scene from NC’s coast to mountains. The family-style seated dinner will be prepared by Chef Scott Crawford of the soon-to-open Standard Foods and Nash Tavern in Raleigh, Ben Adams of Piedmont in Durham, Matthew Dawes of The Bull and Beggar in Asheville. Other chefs will be announced later. Guests will dine with local food artisans whose cheeses, meats, artisan breads, brews and spirits will be highlighted in each dish. tickets are $100 each.

TerraVita wraps up on Oct. 11 with the Grand Tasting on the Green. Chef demonstrations will be spotlighted for the first time, alongside tastings from 45 exceptional chefs and artisans from across North Carolina. More than 100 sustainably-produced beverages from around the globe will be served, including organic coffee, biodynamic, organically-grown and natural wines, local microbrews and distilleries. Guests also will enjoy cookbook signings and interaction with chefs, artisans and beverage producers from across the state. The all-inclusive ticket is $75; designated driver tickets are available for $60.

For more information please visit www.TerraVitaEvent.com or email info@TerraVitaEvent.com. For updates, follow @TerraVitaFoodie on Twitter and Instagram, TerraVita Food & Drink Festival on Pinterest, and TerraVita Food & Wine Event on Facebook.

Inspired by global travel, a new look at Southern ingredients

Brys Stephens, author of The New Southern Table, will sign copies of his book from 12 noon to 3pm Friday, July 11, at Savory Spice Shop in Lafayette Village, 8470 Honeycutt Road, Raleigh. For information, call 919-900-8291.

“… and it's that if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard; because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with.” – Dorothy Gale, Kansas

Brys Stephens

Sometimes you have travel far from home to realize that the things you grew up with, the things you took for granted, are more important than you could have imagined.

That happened to Brys Stephens, a food writer who makes his home on Sullivan’s Island, near Charleston.  Thanks to his family’s business, which had international interests, Stephens was still a boy when he became a world traveler. Over the years, as he visited farm stands and ate at restaurants around the globe, he couldn’t help but notice how the foods of the American South figured prominently in the cuisines of other countries.

“I grew up with great soul food, a lot of African American influences,” says Stephens, author of The New Southern Table (Fair Winds Press, $21.99). “I enjoyed all those classic Southern things, but at the same time I was traveling and seeing different landscapes. The bottom line for me is that what grows together goes together. I think it gave me an ingredient focus in my cooking.”

Stephens’ book is subtitled “Classic Ingredients Revisited.” His goal is not to re-invent fried chicken and biscuits so much as to shows how classic Southern ingredients – okra, sweet potatoes, rice and peanuts, among others – can be used in new ways.

“It’s almost like a jazz riff,” he says. “Look at Edward Lee in Louisville, using kimchi and country ham. India does a red beans and rice dish that looks almost like ours, but they use entirely different spices. That's exciting to me.”

Stephens wants folks who already adore local crops to be emboldened by his recipes, which incorporate the particular spice profiles and techniques favored in places as distinct as Europe and Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean Islands. Not surprisingly, many of these countries have hot growing seasons and, importantly, were part of the slave trade route that carried new foods along with enslaved people.

Stephens says that fusing culinary traditions reflects the changing nature of the South, where immigrants are finding success operating Korean barbecue joints next door to old school smoke shops.

Some recipes completely transform ingredients from how they are commonly consumed in the South. While many of us ate fresh-cut wedges of juicy watermelon over the July 4^th holiday, Stephens shows how Sicilians turn watermelon into a jellied pudding studded with pistachios.

“It’s fun and surprising,” he says. “I hope people will feel the same excitement about using familiar ingredients in new ways.”

On Friday at Savory Spice Shop, where he will signs copies of his book, Stephens is expected to offer samples of his Butterbean Hummus, in which he substitutes baby lima beans for chickpeas. While it keeps the sesame tahini popular in Middle Eastern recipes, it recalls the more Southern-inspired Butterbean Pate created by The Lee Brothers of Charleston, who are cited as a strong influence.

“The New Southern Table has that hallmark quality of all truly great Southern cookbooks: It makes us want to get into the kitchen and cook sweet potatoes the first day we flip it open!” say Ted and Matt Lee in a book jacket comment.

Butterbean Hummus
Reprinted with permission of the author from The New Southern Table.

4 tablespoons (60g) sesame tahini
Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste, divided
1 clove garlic, minced, divided
2½ cups (425g) cooked lima beans
1 tablespoon (15g) nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon (15g) lima bean cooking liquid of water
Kosher salt
Olive oil for drizzling (optional)

In a small bowl, mix together the tahini with one half of the lemon juice and one half of the garlic to lighten the tahini’s texture. Combine the tahini mixture, the remaining lemon juice, garlic, lima beans, yogurt and lima bean cooking water in a food processor, and blend until smooth. Season with to taste with salt, and then blend again to incorporate. Drizzle with olive oil, if desired.

Yield: 2-3 cups (490-740g).

A picnic lunch at Reynolda House, in the style of Katharine Smith Reynolds

R.J. and Katharine Smith Reynolds with their
five children (Photos courtesy of Reynolda House)

Katharine Smith Reynolds was a woman ahead of her time. In the early 1900s, as a young bride planning the grand estate that is now the public Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, she insisted that her home have every feature that could foster healthy living. State-of-the-art exchangers scrubbed the air to minimize the risk of devastating contagions. Exercise was taken outdoors and a large garden produced nutritious food to feed her growing family.

While it might boggle a visitor's mind to imagine living among the finery of Reynolda House in its heyday, a group of writers recently experienced what likely was a typical afternoon picnic on the tree-shaded lawn. The event was organized by Visit Winston-Salem and catered by Mozelle's Fresh Southern Bistro. Mozelle's owner Jennifer Smith and executive chef Stephen McPherson drew inspiration from menus approved by Katherine Reynolds.

The first course was a summery strawberry gazpacho garnished with purple basil snipped hours earlier from the contemporary Reynolda House gardens, which are in the midst of a major restoration project. Fragrant heirloom roses well in full bloom during an early spring visit.

The second course was a luscious salad of roasted leeks, mache, yogurt and toasted walnuts lightly dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.

The third course had everyone sighing with delight, including guest Nathalie Dupree. the Southern cooking legend who was in town to launch Salute! The North Carolina Wine Celebration. Tucked into an especially flaky crust were slices of still-juicy tomato and loads of local cheese. The creamed succotash served on the side was a revelation, with early butter beans and fresh-cut corn served in a cool puddle of cream. 

The meal ended on a sweet note with White Chocolate Key Lime Pie. While most diners demurred that they were too full for more than just a bite, I confess without shame that I left only mere crumbles of the perfect chocolate crust.

Reynolda House Museum of American Art

WHEN YOU VISIT:

Reynolda House Museum of American Art is located at 2250 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem. It is open from 9:30am to 4:30pm Tuesday through Saturday, and 1:30-4:30pm Sunday. Adult admission is $14; it is free for children, students and military with valid ID. For information or help planning your visit, call 336-758-5150 (toll-free, 888-663-1149), or email reynolda@reynoldahouse.org.

Mozelle's Fresh Southern Bistro is located at 878 W. Foursth St., Winston-Salem. It has received awards for best service and most romantic dinner. For hours or reservations, call 336-703-5400.

For information about other things to see and do, contact Visit Winston-Salem at 336-728-4200 (toll-free, 866-728-4200) or info@visitwinstonsalem.org. Its office is located at 200 Brookstown Ave., Winston-Salem, and are open 8:30am to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Northern Exposure: Expats from the celebrate Canada Day with beloved foods

This post first appeared in Indy Week.

Across the Triangle and from sea to shining sea, firework stands are sprouting in strip mall parking lots like mushrooms in the woods.

In eager anticipation of July 4th, children are begging for sparklers and adults are pondering the eternal question: whether it's nobler to endure a wimpy driveway fireworks display or head across the border into South Carolina to smuggle back an illicit motherlode of pyrotechnics. And let's not forget the food. There are the deviled eggs to be made, hot dogs and hamburgers to be grilled.

Poutine, a Canadian favorite (Indy Week)

Yet not everyone is rushing to drape their house in all-American bunting. Canadians who left the Great White North for jobs or college in North Carolina, are intent on securing an adequate supply of Molson's, maple syrup and beloved Tim Horton's coffee—essentials for ex-pats celebrating Canada Day on July 1.

Canada Day commemorates the 1867 federation of the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada (including Ontario and Quebec). Some of the estimated 5,000 Canadians living in the Triangle will start the party early at a celebration Sunday in Wake Forest.

"It's a family-friendly event, and you don't have to be Canadian to come," says Sean Mitton, who created CanSouth in 2004 as a way to help Canucks make local connections. The Ontario native also created the Canadian Expat Network, which provides a similar service nationwide. "Just like Southerners, Canadians are very polite and welcoming."

Mike Rumble, who moved here from Toronto, appreciates the bonds he's made with Canadian friends. "I love my life here, but when people find out you're from Canada they always want you to say 'eh,' or 'our and about,'" quips Rumble, who provides North Carolina travel information at the state Division of Tourism. "The funny thing is, my dad sometimes tell me I sound Southern."

CanSouth members want their neighbors to know that they're not as defined by Canadian clichés as Robin Scherbatsky of How I Met Your Mother, and that their politicians (such as Toronto mayor and crack aficionado Rob Ford) are no more bizarre than ours.

They are, however, fierce defenders of curling, a sport most Americans deem as dismissable as ice dancing. Cliff Gray of the Triangle Curling Club will lead a demonstration on Sunday; the club's $1.4 million rink opens later this year on So-Hi Drive in Durham.

"It was always hard for people to get into curling because it was held for the odd hours when skaters or hockey didn't have control of the ice," says Gray, a Quebecer who took up the safer sport after enduring years of hockey injuries. "Our ice will be for curling only."

Later, the celebration will shift toward food. The meal will be catered by Sammy's Bar & Tavern, a haven for hockey lovers, and supplemented by potluck dishes. Gray, who dreams of Swiss Chalet—a Canadian chain famous for rotisserie chicken bathed in a secret sauce—can't wait.

"I'd really like to have some steamed hot dogs and Montreal smoked meat. Oh, and candy bars," he says. "Coffee Crisp is a wafer-type chocolate that tastes like coffee, and Crunchies are sponge toffee covered in chocolate. There's just nothing like it here."

Rumble is hoping for a Nanaimo bar, a creamy chocolate dessert named for the town located on Vancouver Island, just north of Washington State. Square Rabbit in downtown Raleigh lists "Janice's Nanaimo bar" on its specialty dessert list.

"One of our members created that recipe and it is so good," says Rumble. "For a long time, I was sad that I couldn't buy Billy Bee creamed honey here. You can get it in every grocery store in Canada. I found it recently at Trader Joe's and I was very shocked. I was so happy, I almost cried right there in the aisle."

Riva Soucie and her husband, Adam, moved to Raleigh in January from Washington, D.C., where they had been working at the Canadian Embassy. Formerly of Ottawa, they're now on assignment at N.C. State University. They've been happily surprised by the food here, including a wider selection of vegetarian restaurants than in D.C.

For Sunday's party, Soucie might make beaver tails—flattened ovals of dough that are fried and, depending on what part of Canada you are from, dusted with cinnamon sugar or dressed with maple syrup and butter. Or maybe authentic poutine, a dish traced to rural Quebec that covers crisp French fries in brown gravy topped with cheese curds. She recently discovered a faithful rendition at Joule Coffee.

Sean Mitton says such food not only stirs taste memories but reminds us that it's good to spend time with people who understand cross-border issues. Like bulking up for winter with Canadian Thanksgiving in October and American Thanksgiving in November.

"Food is one of those things that binds us, like when Paul Henderson scored the goal in 1972 that won the Summit Series against Russia," says Mitton, who collected the memories of dozens of Canadians 40 years later in a book, The Goal That United Canada.

"Even people who weren't alive at the time know the legend," says Mitton, whose partner will give birth to the couple's first child—a bona fide Southerner —in a few months. "The Triangle is a great place to raise children, and it's our home. It's a great place to be Canadian."

Winston-Salem recalls the welcome table of its beloved neighbor, Dr. Maya Angelou

Memorial flyer near the door at
Shabbytiques in West End.

The death of celebrated writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou at age 86 on May 28 sent shock waves around the world. Her passing was felt keenly in her adopted hometown of Winston-Salem, where shops in the downtown arts district displayed heartfelt messages and autographed photos of their beloved neighbor.

The question could not help but be asked right away, even by those who made no effort to hide their grief and tears:  Would Dr. Angelou’s legendary Thanksgiving celebrations, which united celebrities and store clerks as equals at her welcome table, continue without her?

“From what I’ve heard, the family wants it to happen,” says Chef Don McMillan of Simple Elegance, who worked on Dr. Angelou’s two cookbooks and catered the weekend-long feasts for the past several years, including last November. “My guess is that it will become a celebration of her life.”

McMillan says the celebrations, which attracted more than 200 attendees from down the street and around the globe, would start with an informal get-together on Wednesdays. Turkey and ham were served at the traditional Thanksgiving meal, along with a staggering assortment of sides, in the Visitor’s Center at Old Salem Museums and Gardens.

In the early years, when the party was small enough for friends and family to crowd around her large dining room table, Dr. Angelou cooked all the food herself. “She was especially famous for her greens and very good stuffing,” says longtime friend Campbell Cawood, who now lives in Key West. “She believed the best way to communicate was over food that was prepared in a loving way. It was heart and soul of how she got to know people.”

Nikki Miller-Ka, a private chef and popular Winston-Salem food writer, got to know Dr. Angelou when they’d see each other shopping at the same local grocery store. She kept a respectful distance until one day when she overheard Dr. Angelou ask her aide to get some fresh green beans. She confided that they were stringy and suggested okra as a better choice.

 “We talked and I helped a few more times when I’d see her,” says Miller-Ka, noting that Dr. Angelou intuited that she longed to be a writer. “She said, ‘You can’t be that descriptive without being a writer.’ She sprinkled some inspiring words upon me. I felt like she made an effort to be a mentor.”

Miller-Ka says the market experience actually was not her first run-in with Dr. Angelou. At age 6 or 7, while playing among clothing racks while her mother shopped, she careened into an elegant woman wearing a black sheath dress, pearls and a large hat. “She looked at me, pointed a finger and just said, ‘You!’” she recalls with a laugh. “I didn’t say a word and I ran back to my mother. Later, my mother looked around and said, ‘Oh, look. It’s Maya Angelou.’”

Betty Morton was similarly intimidated the first time she met Dr. Angelou. Familiar to Reynolds Wrap users as one of the white-jacketed home economics in the popular “Pat and Betty” series of TV ads, Morton helped McMillan cook a catered meal in Dr. Angelou’s home kitchen.

Maya Angelou with Chef Don McMillan
 and Betty Morton (Courtesy Don McMillan)

“It was an unforgettable experience,” Morton says. “Her kitchen was very organized, very well laid out. Her pantry had everything. She was well traveled and what I saw really reflected that. It was a warm place to be. It really felt like a privilege, not only to cook for her and her guests, but to use her things and cook in her kitchen.”

As much as Dr. Angelou’s guests looked forward to a fine dining experience, McMillan says they also enjoyed the casual western-style barbecue that followed Thanksgiving. Perhaps even more anticipated was the Bojangles fried chicken and biscuits served on Saturdays, when her cultured guests took turns reciting poetry, singing, dancing or displaying their particular artistic talent.

“It would range from children performing skits to Ashford & Simpson and people who designed exquisite jewelry,” McMillan says. “When I think of this, it is part of her persona of sharing and loving. It’s been a blessing to be part of her life.”

While it is too early to say whether Dr. Angelou’s family will want to continue the celebration without her, Old Salem will continue to block that time until directed otherwise.

“The space is reserved for this year, but of course we have not yet heard about their plans,” says Old Salem CEO Ragan Folan, whose staff has worked to ensure the privacy of Dr. Angelou and her guests. “I never attended, but I know that it was a wonderful family weekend celebration for many years. We hope it will continue.”

Sign at Miller's on North Trade Street.

The resurrection of Piedmont: How a restaurant reclaimed its status in the Durham dining scene

Justin Cook photo for INDY Week

This post first appeared in INDY Week.

One of the first restaurants Jamie and Vance Kite visited in Durham was Piedmont. At one point they considered never going back.

"We had been there several times and liked it, but then they seemed to go downhill," Jamie Kite says. "I ordered gnocchi with green sauce one night, I guess it was about a year-and-a-half ago. I sent it back because it tasted like grass."

Piedmont's decline occurred around the same time that several hot restaurants opened nearby, making it easy for diners to go elsewhere. But over the past year, and especially in recent months, a buzz has been growing about Chef Ben Adams' creative use of local ingredients. Customers have been impressed by the hospitality of General Manager Crawford Leavoy, who also runs the beverage program. They also like the look of the place, where funky art made from reclaimed floorboards hangs on the tall gray walls.

The Kites came back on a whim. They're now regulars who encourage friends to give Piedmont another chance.

"The food is exceptional, and it's the sort of place where they remember not just your name but things you really like," she says. "It's just so warm and welcoming."

"That's exactly what we've been aiming for," says Leavoy. A Louisiana native, he was a manager at Restaurant August, the flagship of Chef John Besh's culinary group in New Orleans. There, he also directed wine and spirits selection. "Each month we're seeing steady growth from the previous year. If something breaks, we no longer panic."

Leavoy and Adams agree that the challenge of reinventing Piedmont was bigger than they originally bargained for, but it has been worth it. "It's been a year of throwing a lot of our lives and energy into this," says Adams, who grew up in Charleston and has cooked around the globe. "It's only going to get better."

Piedmont's contemporary Southern cuisine is deeply rooted in its location. Ingredients ranging from just-picked produce to pasture-raised heritage pigs come from Coon Rock Farm, which is likewise owned by the Eno Hospitality Group. Located just down the road in Hillsborough, it's close enough to draw inspiration from whatever is available that day. Freshly laid eggs often play a starring role in brunch, which only recently returned.

What doesn't come from the farm is sourced from partnerships with local growers, foragers and vendors who share their passion for seasonal foods and sustainable practices. "We have people who want to grow and find things for us that we can't get anywhere else," Adams says. "And we've built a team that can prepare food really well—and consistently."

In the front of the house, Leavoy has shaken things up on the cocktail menu. He cleverly tweaks pre-Prohibition era classics like the Negroni and very sippable 95 Sq. Miles (a play on a 12 Mile Limit, renamed for the size of Durham) with house-made bitters, syrups and infusions. They plan to update the appearance of the bar to better match Piedmont's renewed sophistication.

Additionally, Leavoy has significantly expanded the restaurant's wine list. In fact, it's grown to the point that the tiny print may be illegible to those who left their reading glasses at home. Diners are in good hands, however, when he manages course pairings.

Recent menus have demonstrated the kitchen's diversity and range. Appetizers, from $7-$13, have included such showstoppers as fried Rappahannock oysters atop a luxurious duck liver parfait, house-smoked Carolina trout dip with crisp lavash crackers and a chilled cucumber vichyssoise garnished with tangy pickled little neck clams.

Adams shows a light touch in cooking the local catch, such as Carolina red snapper pan-seared in browned butter. Also impressive was the Whitman Farms pork chop with tender Anson Mills grit cake and the duck leg confit, which featured Durham-made Melina's ricotta gnocchi. Don't overlook the roasted Springer Mountain Farms chicken, served with roasted cauliflower, Carolina Gold rice and Anson Mills benne seed; leftovers make a great cold lunch. Most entrees are priced between $22 and $26.

Desserts are as satisfying as the entrées. Hurry in for the seasonal rhubarb tart, in which crimson slices are artfully tucked into almond frangipane to create a rosette that's almost too pretty smash with your fork. One bite of the decadent sticky date cake with salted caramel ice cream, dulce de leche and caramelized white chocolate and you'll understand why it's been on the menu since Adams took over the kitchen. They are $8 each and definitely shareable.

Adams and Leavoy regularly collaborate with local chefs and producers for special events, such as a TOPO Distillery dinner June 18 and a Bastille Day feast with master baker Lionel Vatinet of La Farm Bakery July 14. Piedmont recently hosted the Drinks and Desserts Reception for TASTE The Event, a five-day celebration of Triangle food. Adams shared his kitchen with superstar chefs Kim Floresca and Daniel Ryan of [One] Restaurant and Daniel Benjamin, the former Herons pastry chef who will soon open lucettegrace in Raleigh.

Now that he's cooked through all four seasons at Piedmont, Adams says he's ready to bring back some favorites, like a cold corn soup with barbecued shrimp. "Everybody loved that last summer," he says. "It may have been the first dish that really was a sign that things were moving in the right direction."o

Fire in the Triangle names 16 competing chefs

Sixteen Triangle chefs will soon engage in another round of competitive cooking as part of third annual Fire in the Triangle event. Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series founder Jimmy Crippen welcomed participants this morning, including last year’s Triangle winner, Chef Dean Thompson of Flights at the Renaissance Hotel at North Hills.

The series of 15 dinner events are based around one or more surprise ingredients, which are not revealed to competitors until the morning of each contest. All ingredients are either grown or produced in North Carolina. By recording their feedback in a smartphone app, ticket-buying diners have as much say in the outcome as do a panel of guest judges.

This year, Fire in the Triangle stretches beyond the traditional tri-county boundary to include Pup’s Steakhouse in Wilson.  Weathervane in Chapel Hill returns, but this time under new Chef Spencer Carter. Additionally, the series will feature the female chef for this region, Beth LittleJohn of Raleigh’s Coquette Brasserie.

“It’s still a guy’s game, as you can see by looking at this room, but women chefs are finally getting the attention we deserve,” says LittleJohn, noting Ashley Christensen’s selection as Best Chef Southeast by the James Beard Foundation. “I’m feeling good about my chances.”

All Fire in the Triangle events will be held at 1705 Prime, located at 1605 E. Millbrook Road, Raleigh. Chefs and restaurants spotlighted in the first-round bracket include:

• June 23: Dean Thompson of Flights and Joseph Yarnell of Cantina 18 in Raleigh
• June 24: John Childers of Herons at The Umstead in Cary and Scott Yankovictz of The Station in Raleigh
• June 25: Spencer Carter of Weathervane at Southern Season in Chapel Hill and Nunzio Scordo of Driftwood Southern Kitchen in Raleigh
• June 30: Christopher Hill of The Oxford in Raleigh and Yunes Sabou of City Kitchen in Chapel Hill
• July 1: Serge Falcoz-Vigne of 518 West in Raleigh and James Clark of Carolina Crossroads at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill
• July 2: Peter Spear of Pup’s Steakhouse in Wilson and Adam Jones of Dean’s Seafood Bar & Grill in Cary
• July 7:  Sean Fowler of Mandolin in Raleigh and Steve Zanini of Jimmy V’s Steakhouse & Tavern in Cary
• July 8: Regan Strachler of Little Hen in Apex and Beth LittleJohn of Coquette Brasserie in Raleigh

Laurence Willard is the competition’s executive chef and the person responsible for selecting the surprise ingredients. Foods introduced during the current Fire in the Triad contest include Texas Pete’s new Cha! sriracha sauce, manufactured in Winston-Salem, and chestnut flour from High Rock Farm in Gibsonville. The Triad contest will conclude on June 2.

“The chestnut flour was a good challenge,” grins Willard, who surprised chefs by using it on two consecutive nights. “We’re looking at some incredible North Carolina cheeses and have connected with a new mushroom grower in Hickory. We hope to use giant trumpet mushrooms during the Triangle events.”

The Fire in the Triangle winner will receive $2,000, a handmade culinary knife from Steve Watkins of Ironman Forge in Charlotte, and a coveted red chef jacket. Each regional winner will move on to the championship, which will be held in Raleigh in November. The grand prize is a trip to the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone program in Napa Valley.

Tickets are $59 for preliminary and quarter-final Raleigh rounds and $69 for the final battle, which will be held on Aug. 4. For information or to order tickets, visit www.competitiondining.com.