Fire on the Rock serves up a fierce competition

Winning chefs (from left) Stephen Hertz, Michelle Bailey and Todd Mallin sporting their scarlet chef’s jackets. Bailey is holding the handmade chef’s knife by Ironman Forge in Charlotte. Master of ceremonies Jimmy Crippen can be seen in the background. Photo courtesy of D.K. Communications Group

In a series of Fire on the Rock cooking competitions in Wilmington, Asheville, Greensboro, Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina’s top culinary talents are vying for the title of the state’s best chef. A crowd of 125 foodies assembled at Biltmore Estate’s Lioncrest on Monday, March 31 to indulge in a sumptuous, six-course feast. Chef Michelle Bailey of Season’s at Highland Lake Inn & Resort in Flat Rock and her team went up against Chef Sam Etheridge and his team from Ambrozia Bar & Bistro in Asheville.

Each chef prepared an appetizer, entrée and dessert course. They were required to include two local mystery ingredients — Lusty Monk Mustard and Beulah’s Bavarian Pretzels — which were revealed to them at noon on the day of the competition. Chefs were required to incorporate mustard in all three dishes and pretzels in at least two dishes.

Judges rated each course on presentation, aroma, originality and effective use of the secret ingredient. They did not know which team prepared each course until the event’s conclusion when tallied scores were announced by master of ceremonies, Jimmy Crippen.

Etheridge’s highest-scoring creation combined a trio seafood delicacies: lobster sausage with arugula, drizzled with a citrus honey-mustard dressing, Beulah’s Bavarian Pretzel beer-battered smoked shrimp with a chipotle mustard tartar sauce slaw and a blue crab cheesecake with a pretzel crust and champagne mustard cream.

Bailey’s top-scoring entry was a chipotle-mustard chocolate cake served with Altar Boy buttermilk ice cream over a Beulah’s Bavarian Pretzel tuile, garnished with fizzy blackberries and lemon relish. The dessert also incorporated a Lusty Monk mustard flavored raspberry coulis and salted pretzel caramel sauce.

The results were close, but Bailey took home the prize. She is the first female chef to lead a team to victory in a Fire on the Rock competition. She was assisted by teammates Stephen Hertz and Todd Mallin. Last year’s champion finalist, Adam Hayes, executive chef at the Grand Bohemian’s Red Stag Grill presented each team member with a scarlet chef’s jacket. They also took home a $2,000 check and a handmade chef’s knife crafted by Ironman Forge in Charlotte. Bailey will compete in November in Raleigh at Final Fire: Battle of the Champions against the other competition winners from Wilmington, Charlotte, the Triad and the Triangle.

“My cooking style is refined American Cuisine utilizing local and sustainably sourced ingredients with a focus on traditional Southern techniques and international flavor profiles,” says Baily. In fact, much of the produce used at Season’s is harvested from gardens at Highland Lake Inn.

Fire on the Rock organizers agreed to donate a meal for each ticket sold during the event to Asheville’s The Downtown Welcome Table at the Haywood Congregation. The program offers fine dining to homeless neighbors in Asheville each Wednesday.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Mark-Ellis Bennett
Born in March 1958 Lived in Asheville since September 1985 Started writing professionally in January 2008 sending reports every week on or ahead of deadline Like writing about history, culinary and performing arts, and the good, noble and interesting things people do.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.