Competition Dining: Raleigh Finale
Teams from Wake County and Pinehurst spent Sunday in the kitchen and served up six courses for 150 diners in the finale of the Raleigh series of Competition Dining.
Posted — UpdatedEach team advanced through two rounds of competition to make it to Sunday's final.
How it works
At noon, the teams meet to learn what ingredients they will be required to feature in their dishes. For the finale, they were given two: Certified Angus Beef and fresh blackberries.
They then spent the afternoon planning and preparing three courses apiece. The requirement was that beef be featured in two of three of each team's dishes, and the blackberries be included in all three.
The meal
Around my table were a combination of competition dining veterans, including a couple who make the trip to each region and Randy Eli Whitney of Ran-Lew Dairy, and two couples who were experiencing the competition dining atmosphere for the first time.
"We're off to a good start," said Tim from High Point as the first course hit the table.
The second dish showed the creativity and boundary-pushing common in competition dining. Eager diners used Wikipedia to figure out what to expect from mostarda (it is an Italian condiment made of candied fruit and mustard) while the servers made their way through the room.
"Sometimes I think they make up these words," Whitney said.
After it arrived, though, there was disappointment. The portions varied widely in size, and diners agreed that the corn dog needed the moisture provided by the mostarda, the ketchup or both to make it compelling.
"There wasn't any pop," said David from Raleigh.
The sole shortcoming of course three was the absence of the greens in the description. We were told that some diners got them, but they were left off the plates at my table.
Nonetheless, it earned raves.
"I'm going to need bread for every bit of this sauce," one diner said, reaching for the basket of samples from La Farm.
"This was nicely executed, but the one before was so satisfying," said Mark from Cary.
Again, the fried element – this time the green tomatoes – was missing something, and several diners left that bit unfinished.
"It IS pretty," was the reaction as this dish arrived at the table.
Across the dining room, in comments and on Twitter, diners remarked on the diversity on the plate. "It's like three different people designed this dessert," one said. "There is a lot going on here," said another.
Tim, of High Point, who said he averaged 25 competition dining events per year, called it in saying, "That's going to be tough to beat."
Those at my table got an added treat with the final dessert, a sample of white and chocolate milks from our dining companion Whitney, of Ran-Lew Dairy. Ran-Lew, in Snow Camp, is family-run, producing fresh, non-homogenized, low temperature pasteurized milk bottled right on the farm. "That milk was in the cow this morning," Whitney said.
Course 6 contrasted with Course 5 in that the elements of the dessert were best melded together. The challenge of serving 150 diners at once was apparent as the ice cream and marshmallow fluff began to melt. That only hastened the integration of the parts into a rich, sweet, salty, chocolately delight.
The results
After the teams took their victory laps and the scores were read, it was apparent that Mirepoix would claim the championship.
The greatest challenge, Franz Propst said, was to avoid over-thinking the application of two very common ingredients. "There are so many ways you can go," he said, "It made it more difficult to decide on a plan."
Popst had praise for the team from Pinehurst as well.
"They are really talented," he said.
The winners, Team Mirepoix, will face off with five other North Carolina regional champs in the Competition Dining Battle of Champions to be held in Raleigh Nov. 11-20.
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