Competition Dining: Fire in the Triangle

            One of my favorite Food Network shows is Iron Chef.  Two chefs battle it out in a timed event with all dishes surrounding a secret ingredient.  Well, that extraordinary concept has been brought to North Carolina with the Competition Dining series.  The Fire in the Triangle is the third in the Got to be NC series; the others were Fire on the Rock (in the mountains) and Fire on the Dock (on the coast).  I am so excited!  Sixteen of the best chefs from the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill area will square off in a single elimination tournament.  With how amazingly it went over in Wilmington and how quickly the Raleigh tickets have sold out, this virtually guarantees many nights of epic dining.  Best of all, in addition to the judges, the diners also get to vote on the winners. 

My wife and I bought tickets to two of the events.  Sorry, but the roughly $50 a person price tag can get rather expensive if you want to attend all of the events.  We are planning on seeing the match-up of Matthew Hannon of Ashten’s in Southern Pines against Scott James of Midtown Grill in Raleigh.  Having been to both restaurants and loving both experiences we are expecting an amazing feast of six dishes. Because of our love of food, we are also going back on my wife’s birthday, July 10^th for the winner of our battle on June 18^th to face the winner of the June 13^th battle of Weathervane vs. Fork and Barrel.  Oh and all of the events are held at 1705 Prime in Raleigh, that place looks great and is the perfect venue for these contests. 

I know roughly 32 chefs applied for the 16 positions in the competition, so I have no idea how they chose who got to participate.  What I can tell you is that all of the tickets for all of the rounds are sold out, so unless you already have tickets, you’ll have to wait for next year.  Trust me, with how popular this is, it will be back. 

So, I wanted to do something different than all the other food bloggers out there.  My wife and I have been to 14 of the 16 restaurants that are competing, so based on my knowledge of their restaurant, chef, and dishes, I’m planning on creating the Vegas-style odds for the chefs’ chances of winning.  (This is strictly recreational and for fun only, I will not be taking any bets, nor should you bet.) Without further ado, here is my odds of winning and reasons:

Chef John Childers (Heron’s):  Based on the fact that any round with Chef Childers in it sold out first and the fact that Heron’s at the Umpstead has the reputation as the Best 4-5 Star (depending on the source) restaurant in NC, he has to be the presumptive favorite.  Heron’s menu may be a bit pretentious, but it is fine dining at its best. Odds: Even

Chef Michael Lee (Sono): Chef Lee’s contemporary and inventive style makes for great cuisine.  Plus, lately the trending toward high-class Asian food, gives Chef Lee a big advantage, especially when blended with European techniques.  With the right secret ingredient, he is unstoppable, with the wrong one, he might be out of the competition early.  Odds: 2-1

Chef Scott James (Midtown Grill): Based on the times we have been to Midtown Grill and the variety of local ingredients cooked exquisitely, I think Chef James has a good chance of winning.  Unfortunately for him, he has a tough round one draw.  If he can get out of round one, then round three is almost a given.  Odds: 3-1

Chef Matthew Hannon (Ashten’s): Chef Hannon has already won awards for Best Dish in NC and his menu is a blend of high-class fair with mass appeal.  If he can win as an underdog in round one, the Chef Hannon has a good chance of being in the finals.  Odds: 5-1

Chef Ryan Payne (Weathervane):  Chef Payne’s use of local and southern ingredients at Weathervane can give him a big advantage in any round.  Also, he has a large following in Chapel Hill who I can guarantee will be in attendance.  It is a good thing for his opponent that we don’t know which chef prepares which dish until the end.  Odds: 8-1

Chef Chad McIntyre (Market): In my one time at Market, the food was very fresh, like right off the farm fresh.  However, I felt that Chef McIntyre’s healthy cooking mantra may have taken away some of the possibilities of his dishes.  He could go very far in this competition due to his inventiveness, but since he has to face the presumptive favorite in the first round, I’m sorry to say that he might be one-and-done.  Odds: 10-1

Chef Serge Falcoz-Vigne (518 West): This chef could be hit or miss.  While Megan’s grandparents love 518 West, our visit there met mixed reviews.  Again, the overly Italian menu could hinder Chef Falcoz-Vigne, but the right ingredients could be a hit.  Who doesn’t love Italian anyway?  Odds: 15-1

Chef Adam Rose (Il Palio):  By the time I am writing this, he has already won round one.  That said, while his food is impeccable, I’m scared that if the secret ingredient is something not at all found in Italian fare, he could struggle.  Also, the fact that the judges had him losing every round in his first competition should say a lot.  Odds: 15-1

Chef Shane Ingram (Four Square): Chef Ingram’s menu at Four Square is diverse enough that he has a fighter’s chance at winning.  My experience there was above average.  He did win his first round already, so that is a big plus, but he also made the only dish in the competition so far that has a less than 50% approval rating, the Blueberry Pheasant Pad Thai.  Odds: 20-1

Chef Reto von Weissenfluh (Mia Francesca’s):  Chef von Weissenfluh’s restaurant is again, overtly Italian.  However, he does have lots of international influences, which could make the difference. This is one of the two that we have not been to, so I could be wrong.  I bet his food is good, but I also bet that 518 West’s is better.  Odds: 20-1

Chef Chris Harris (Fork and Barrel): Chef Harris’s menu is fun and well made, but I just think it lacks the sophistication of the other restaurants.  With judges of very discerning palates, and the opponent being the Weathervane, I think he loses tonight.  Sorry.  Odds: 25-1

Chef Christopher Hill (The Oxford): I’ve only been to the Oxford once.  It was a fun experience, but probably more due to the company than the food.  To me, the Oxford seems like jazzed-up bar food.  Don’t get me wrong, it is good food, it is just not something that I foresee winning the Fire in the Triangle competition.  Odds: 30-1

Chef Dean Wendel (Flights): The menu and food in my one and only time at Flights just under-whelmed me.  Let’s call Flights what it is, a hotel restaurant.  It is no reflection on Chef Wendel, but rarely do you see Raleigh diners heading to a hotel for dinner.  Sorry Chef, I bet you have amazing skills, but until you are headlining a stand-alone restaurant, I just don’t see you winning.  Odds: 50-1

Chef Jimmy Reale (Chapel Hill Country Club): This is the other restaurant that I have never been too.  However, outside of 1970’s movies, I rarely see people saying that they will be dining at “The Club”.  Chef Reale may have mad skills, but then I think he would have his own restaurant.  Never the less, he has one big advantage that others do not.  Most likely, he is the chef most accustomed to making a large quantity of the same dish at a high quality.  Sorry, I just can’t see him winning though.  Odds: 75-1

Chef Adam Jones (Twisted Fork) and Chef Josh DeCarolis (Jujube) are both eliminated already so their odds of winning are Zero.  Sadly, when I was thinking this out ahead of time, I figured both of these chefs would easily win their first round.  Chef Jones prepares great quality dishes and Chef DeCarolis seems like a mad scientist in the kitchen with his blend of Eastern and Western hemispheres.

 Since I am 0 for 2 so far, perhaps I am totally wrong about this entire competition.  But that’s what makes it fun.  Until the secret ingredient is revealed and the dishes are plated, anything can happen.  Best of luck to all remaining contestants and I’ll see some of you in the near future. 

P.S. In case the creators of the Competition Dining series ever do read this, I’m hoping the June 18^th battle has a secret ingredient of NC Scallops.  Just hoping.  Keep up the amazing work and contest.  I love it.