Fire in the Triangle: Battle Certified Angus Beef

Competition Dining has been the brainchild of host and restaurateur Jimmy Crippen.  By dividing the state into four regions, he hosts Iron Chef style competition featuring local chefs and ingredients.  On Wednesday July 10^th, my wife (on her birthday) and I had the pleasure of attending one of the battles in Fire in the Triangle.  The battle we witnessed was between Chef Scott James of the Midtown Grill in Raleigh and Chef Ryan Payne of Weathervane in Chapel Hill.

For days ahead of the battle, Megan and I were speculating about what the secret ingredient could be.  We feared foods like rabbit, mussels, egg, pigs’ feet, or tomato.  Thankfully, Jimmy Crippen announced that we were at battle Certified Angus Beef!  We were stoked, as we knew both chefs would prepare amazing dishes. 

First keep in mind that this is a blind contest.  In other words, you have no idea which chef prepared which dish until the end of the entire meal.  This way, you can’t vote a better score for your favorite chef and you have to be honest and accurate.  As far as the voting, you judge each dish on six categories: Presentation, Aroma, Flavor, Accompaniments (the things on the dish other than the secret ingredient), Creativity (with the secret ingredient), and Execution of the secret ingredient.  In each category, you can score the dish between a 0 and 5, with a 5 meaning that the dish is greater than what you would expect to get at a very accomplished restaurant.  The audience makes up 70% of the total vote, while the expert, professional judges are the other 30%.  I loved the idea that my opinion would get to count in the results.  Each chef prepares three dishes: an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert.  I’ll be honest, I was both excited and nervous about what desserts the chefs would prepare using angus beef. 

Course one was a Dr. Pepper Bulgogi Skirt Steak, with Radish and Cucumber Kim Chee, Candied Ginger, and Red Rice.  Additionally, there was a small bok choy topping the rice.  I really enjoyed the Asian influences in the first dish, as well as the spiciness of the Kim Chee.  The beef was sliced thinly and was subtly sweet, from the Dr. Pepper, however, it was very fatty and chewy.  The rice was also a little mealy and slightly dry.  This was my first red rice experience, but it seems to be very similar to brown rice in flavor and texture.  While voting should be a secret, since the competition is over, I see no harm in publishing my votes.  I gave this dish a 19 out of 30 with high scores on presentation and accompaniments, and lower scores on creativity and execution.  Later on, we learned this dish was prepared by Chef James of Midtown Grill. 

Course two was a Rosemary Smoked Sirloin, Black Bean and Corn Succotash, Crispy Duck Fat Potatoes, and a Citrus Butter.  The aroma of this dish was amazing.  The potatoes were more of a thin French Fry, but the duck fat, made the flavor pop.  I could have easily eaten a plateful of the potatoes.  No one at my table could taste the rosemary flavor of the sirloin, but it was cooked perfectly medium rare and the lime-flavored citrus butter was a great addition to enhance the steak.  The succotash was good too, but I am not a black bean fan.  Surrounding the dish were a few, well placed drops of  Aged Balsamic Vinegar.  I gave this dish a 22/30 with high scores on everything but the flavor, since without the rosemary flavors, the sirloin was fairly plain, until you add the butter.  This dish was made by Chef Payne of Weathervane. 

Course three was Certified Angus Beef Bolognese topped with a Goat and Ashe County Cheese Tortellini and surrounded by Portobella Mushrooms, Basil, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  For starters, the tortellini was amazing!  I mean, these could easily constitute an amazing meal in either restaurant with a simple sauce.  The tartness of the goat cheese accentuated the soft, delicate pasta.  The Bolognese did not impress me though.  Honestly, it reminded me of a high-class Sloppy Joe.  I don’t know why Chef James chose to grind up CAB and mix it with peppers and a tomato base.  I gave this my lowest score of the night, a 14/30, with a high score for accompaniment only.  Strangely, this was also the dish that the professional judges gave their highest score of the night. 

Course four was a Braised Sirloin with Skirt Steak Ragu, Potato Dumplings, and “House Made” Ricotta.  Additionally, there were heated Kalamata Olives surrounding the Ragu.  The steak was very reminiscent of a beef stew.  I did find the irony in the fact that both chefs decided to shred the CAB and put in into a tomato based sauce.  The ricotta was a nice creamy touch that added texture and flavor to the Ragu.  The dumplings were basically just gnocchi, but I loved the addition to the dish.  I scored Chef Payne’s dish an 18/30.  I scored the flavor at a four and creativity at a 2, with everything else a 3.  This would be a good, hearty dish, if served in a large quantity, but for Competition Dining, I guess I just expected a little more. Don’t worry, the creativity overflowed in the desserts. 

Course five was “Meat and Potatoes.”  It was a Cocoa and Molasses crusted CAB Sirloin with a Rosemary Sponge Cake, Balsamic cooked Cherries and a Purple Sweet Potato Custard.  The concept of meat and potatoes for dessert is slightly disturbing, however this was my favorite dish of the entire night.  The sliced sirloin was sweet, the cherries slightly tart due to the Balsamic, and the purple sweet potato custard was just sweet enough to add a great sauce to the dish without overpowering it.  The sponge cake was my favorite though.  The rosemary was very subtle, which was probably good for a dessert.  But the cake had a great dense texture and flavor to die for.  It was all topped with crunchy fried sweet potato strings.  I loved this dish and scored it my highest of the night, a 27/30 with many fives and the lone three for aroma.  Chef James was the author of this dish, which I hope makes it onto Midtown Grill’s dessert menu soon. 

Course six was another dessert titled “Meat and Potatoes.”  This Chef Payne dish was a Potato Doughnut with a Salted Caramel glaze, a Potato Doughnut hole rolled in cinnamon and sugar, Chocolate Candy Covered Skirt Steak, a Lemon Mousse and a Watermelon Jam.  The doughnut came out warm and just melted in your mouth.  This dish had style and finesse.  The sweetness of one doughnut was offset by the slight saltiness of the other.  The Lemon Mousse had a creaminess that could stand-alone or be used as a dip to sweeten the doughnut.  The watermelon jam really didn’t set and most people at my table couldn’t even tell it was there aside from a slight pinkness to a small part of the dish.  Everything to this point was exceptional.  The chocolate steak really didn’t add anything to the dish.  In fact, it was almost like an afterthought that was used just to add the secret ingredient.  While I like chocolate covered bacon, I won’t be ordering chocolate covered steak any time soon.  I gave this dish a 22/30.  The aroma, flavor, presentation, and accompaniments were all exceptional, but the execution of the secret ingredient was uninspired.  I would gladly take more of the doughnuts though. 

At the end of a wonderful night of food and company, Chef Payne of Weathervane was declared the winner.  He scored an approval rating of 72.6% to Chef James’ 69.3%.  I was wrong about predicting which chef made which dish, as well as which chef would win.  Regardless, both chefs prepared amazing food and the camaraderie of the chefs and respect for each other could easily be seen.  In fact, the chefs announced that both of them could be doing a guest chef night at the other’s restaurant.  Be sure to check that out, I bet it will be great.  I wish more tickets were available for other Fire in the Triangle battles, but they sold out very quickly. 

Jimmy Crippen has shot lightning into the NC culinary scene.  I am so happy to say that the Competition Dining will be back next year, because I can’t wait.  Also, I can’t wait until the final battles.  The winners of the Fire on the Dock, Fire on the Rock, Fire in the Triangle, and Fire in the Triad will all compete in a grand finale that will most likely take place in the Raleigh area.  I would advise anyone with an interest in supreme cuisine to be on the lookout for those tickets, they will gone quickly.