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Cookers & Shakers

Cookers & Shakers

by | May 30, 2023 | Eat, June 2023

The NCRLA Chef Showdown isn’t just a competition—it’s a platform.

Like a simplified local version of Top Chef, the NCRLA Chef Showdown is a big deal. The annual competition—now in its seventh season—pits chefs, pastry chefs, mixologists and distilleries from across the state against each other to battle it out for the crown of NCRLA Chef of the Year, Pastry Chef of the Year, Bartender of the Year and Distillery of the Year. 

But let it be known that these aren’t your Ashley Christensen, Vivian Howard or Scott Crawford gourmands. Instead, the Showdown provides a platform for industry peeps on the comeup to stand out, get noticed and make a name
for themselves.

Take rising star chef Saif Rahman, NCRLA Chef of the Year in 2021 who returned in 2022 to judge the competition—and hopes to return to judge this year as well. “You get a lot of local media attention,” he says. “[Winning] gives you a platform—but it also helps the chefs to represent North Carolina in a different way versus just in their own restaurants.”

Rahman says winning provided him a career boost, local recognition—and bragging rights, natch. And he’s just one of many local names the comp has bolstered—see also: Asheville’s Steven Goff, 2019 NCRLA Chef of the Year and now the owner and executive chef of Tastee Diner; 2022 NCRLA Chef of the Year Oscar Johnson, co-owner of Jimmy Pearls in Charlotte; and 2022 NCRLA Pastry Chef of the Year Lydia Greene of Machete in Greensboro.

“The Chef Showdown has become the place to showcase the incredible talent of the North Carolina hospitality industry,” says NCRLA President and CEO Lynn Minges. And this year’s competition promises to be fierce—and perhaps the most competitive and star-studded yet—with an elite cast of 62 chefs, 14 pastry chefs, and 18 teams of bartenders and distillers in the mix (the most in any year to date) making their way through the rounds from May to August. 

And Raleigh came not just to play—but to win (!)—repping in both strength and numbers in this year’s lineup—from culinary contenders Longleaf Swine BBQ’s chef Marc Russell and Cheeni Indian Food Emporium’s Preeti Waas (hey, 2023 James Beard Award semifinalist!) to mixology contenders Wye Hill’s Zac Rogerson and The Willard’s Jessica Rossabi (also the 2022 Bartender of the Year first runner-up. (See the full list of competitors at raleighmag.com.)

Each preliminary round takes place at community colleges across the state, with Raleigh’s own Wake Tech Community College School of Baking and Pastry Arts hosting July 12. A partner of the Chef Showdown for several years now, the college offers ample room and great equipment for the competitors—NTM “the culinary students are so interested in helping where they can,” says Heidi Billotto, a Charlotte-based restaurant, food and travel writer who conceptualized the Chef Showdown in 2016 and continues to contract with the NCRLA to organize the event. 

Only 15 chefs and five pastry chefs will move on to compete in the regional rounds and grand finale—with the final elite six of the highest scoring mixology teams set to shake and stir things up for the public at the grand finale. “I’m proud to say this is our biggest year ever—and it’s going to be spectacular,” adds Billotto. Clearly, this year’s NCRLA Chef Showdown will be one for the books. Grande Finale, open to the public, Aug. 14, The Pavilion at Angus Barn, ncrla.org

NCRLA Crowns Winners of Chef Showdown

NCRLA Crowns Winners of Chef Showdown

by | Aug 9, 2022 | Eat, July 2022/August 2022

Your NCRLA Chef Showdown winners are here! After competing in preliminary and regional rounds of competition earlier this year, 20 top chefs and pastry chefs, and six bartenders paired with six distilleries from across the state (narrowed down from a starting pool of 60+ chefs and a dozen mixologists) competed for the winning titles at the grand finale—and (drumroll!) Oscar Johnson of Jimmy Pearls in Charlotte was named the NCRLA Chef of the Year, Lydia Greene of Machete in Greensboro the NCRLA Pastry Chef of the Year, David Bowen of The Ginger Fox in Winston-Salem the NCRLA Bartender of the Year, and Broad Branch Distillery in Winston-Salem the NCRLA Distillery of the Year. 

Raleigh Magazine got the pleasure of tasting our way through the delectable dishes and bangin’ cocktails at the Performance Food Service People’s Choice Awards on Aug. 8 at Angus Barn—and, boy, was it hard to choose our favorites (it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it…). Some of our top bites and sips were PARA chef Myles Scaglione’s braised rabbit, Machete chef Kevin Cottrell’s grilled and braised beef ribs, and Flying Machine Taproom and Kitchen mixologist Brian Pratt’s Blue Shark Vodka cocktail. … But, really, everything was delicious and they’re all winners in our book (and, ahem, stomachs). 

We also, of course, have to give a shoutout to our home-city representatives, mixologist Jessie Rossabi of The Willard Rooftop Lounge, repping Mystic Farm and Distillery in Durham; and chef Kyle Teears of Saint Jacques French Cuisine—the only Raleigh chef to make it to the finals (!). 

In its sixth season, the NCRLA Chef Showdown (now the longest-running culinary and mixology competition in the state!) was conceptualized by Charlotte-based food and foodcentric travel writer Heidi Billotto in 2016, who continues to contract with the NCRLA to organize the event. “Chef Showdown has become the place to showcase the incredible talent of the North Carolina hospitality industry,” says NCRLA President and CEO Lynn Minges.

The application process for chefs and mixologists begins in February each year, and the competition runs from late March to early April—up until the August Grand Finale. Fun fact: Wake Tech Community College School of Baking and Pastry Arts serves as NCRLA’s “home base” for both the preliminary and regional rounds of competition, a way for the association to “shine a spotlight on the future growth of the hospitality industry and on today’s culinary students who will become working NC chefs and pastry chefs in the years to come,” says Billotto. 

And, who knows, maybe next year one of those students will be competing for a prestigious NCRLA title themselves. Until then, congrats to this year’s winners and to all the talented chefs and bartenders who made their way through the competition!