Competition Dining announces Raleigh brackets

This year, there will be two brackets of chefs competing to win the title of local champion.

Posted 2:52 p.m. Jun 21, 2016 — Updated 2:52 p.m. Jun 21, 2016

RALEIGH, N.C. — The teams have been revealed for Competition Dining's series in Raleigh next month. This year's competition will feature the series' first local dual brackets. The winners of each bracket will face off in a final battle to name one local champion.

Here's a breakdown of the teams who will be competing and when:

Bracket 1:

July 11: Team Sandhills (Chefs from Southern Pines: Rhett Morris, owner and chef at Rhett’s Restaurant, Personal Chef and Catering; Renee Beaulieu, pastry chef at Ashten’s Restaurant; and Raymond Martin, sous chef at Rhett’s Restaurant) vs. Team Fuquay-Varina’s Finest (Chefs from Fuquay Varina: Joseph Fasy, proprietor and executive chef at Hook and Cleaver Market on Broad and part owner and executive chef at Old North State Catering; Leo Cuthbertson, chef at Hook and Cleaver Market on Broad; and Bryan Dahlstrom, executive chef at the Crown Complex in Fayetteville)
July 12: Team Will Work For Food from Pinehurst (Matthew Hannon, chef at Ironwood Restaurant; Jen Curtis, chef de cuisine at Chef Warren's Bistro in Southern Pines; and Niklas Anderson, sous chef at Curt’s Cucina in Southern Pines) vs. Team Ironclad from Greensboro (Michael Roberson executive chef at Iron Hen Café and Fresh Local Good Food Group; Kathryn Hubert, executive assistant at Fresh Local Good Food Group; and Michael Turner, sous chef at Fresh Local Good Food Group)
July 14 semifinal dinner: July 11 winning team versus July 12 winning team

Bracket 2:

July 18: Team Scratch Mavericks from Halifax (Chelsi Hogue, owner, proprietor and executive chef at The Hen & The Hog; Jeremy Law, owner and chef at Soco Farm & Food in Wilson; and Jessica Ricks, sous chef at The Hen & The Hog) vs. Team Orange Crush from Raleigh (Rich Carter, executive chef at Catering Works; Sara Samuels, personal chef at Catering Works; and Anthony Calcagno, executive pastry chef at Catering Works)
July 19: Team Mirepoix from Apex (Franz Propst, executive chef at Peak City Grill & Bar; Ryan Summers, chef at Chef's Palette Restaurant and Bar in Cary; and Tom Halik, chef and proprietor at Main Street Grille Café & Bakery in Wake Forest) vs. Team Brinehaus from Raleigh (Steven Goff, owner and chef at soon-to-open Brine Haus Meat + Provisions food truck and former head butcher at Standard Foods; Geoff Seleen, chef and farmer at Piedmont Biofarm in Pittsboro; and Chris Valenzuela, lead line cook at Old Etowah Smokehouse in Etowah)
July 21 semifinal dinner: July 18 winning team versus July 19 winning team

July 24 finale dinner: July 14 and July 21 winning teams compete

Dinners will be held at 214 Martin St. Tickets for the preliminary and semifinal battles are $59 each. Tickets for the local finale battle on July 24 are $69 each. Tickets are on sale now.

The winner of the Raleigh series will go on to the Battle of Champions in October.

What is Competition Dining?

The series pits chefs against one another in "Iron Chef-style" battles with a twist – the audience/diners get to eat and vote. The diners and nightly celebrity judges help choose the winners each evening and ultimately who will take home the title in each city.

Voting is done through smartphones. Diners just download the Competition Dining app on their phones and scan a QR code. Paper and pencil voting is also available for those who don't have a smartphone. You vote on each course, but have no idea what chef made which dish.

The format for the competition is simple: Chefs arrive to venues around noon on competition day. They find out the secret ingredient and must get to work with their team to create three courses featuring that ingredient. They all have access to the same pantry and the same ingredients. They are also prohibited from making anything from their restaurants.

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