FRS to host Mountain Area Restaurant Show and Whacked! cooking competition

COMPETITIVE COOKING: Last year's Whacked! competition drew hundreds of spectators, according to organizer and FRS general manager Sheila Bivens. Photo courtesy of FRS

An upcoming foodie fair hosted by restaurant supplier FRS Inc. of Asheville is part trade show and part showdown. Now in its third year, the Mountain Area Restaurant Show — a free daylong fair with more than 100 commercial kitchen equipment and supply manufacturers on-site — runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, while the event’s main attraction, Whacked! cooking challenge, begins at 1 p.m.

“We decided to do Whacked! — our version of [the Food Network‘s show] ‘Chopped’ — and incorporate training programs to bring [local students] together to work with three chefs,” FRS general manager Sheila Bivens says. “It’s exciting, if you’re training in culinary to work with a chef who has ‘made it.’”

Three teams will participate in the cook-off, each composed of five key ingredients — a local celebrity chef, culinary students from Eliada Homes and GO Kitchen Ready, an individual from Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry and a food service director from a local school system.

Led by an assigned chef — this year’s masters include chefs Stephen Goff, formerly of King James Public House; Joe Mitchell of Chestnut and Reza Setayesh of Rezaz — each team must produce a strictly timed appetizer, entrée and dessert, with judges awarding points for every dish. One team will reign based on the cumulative total, but the twist, Bivens says, will be the secret ingredients for each round.

“It can be 3-4 items,” says Bivens, recalling the whole beef hearts from last year’s competition. This year, FRS will use more local items that are “pretty wacky” and “challenging for the teams.”

“Unlike the TV show, our chefs do not know which combi oven they will be assigned to, our teams do not know which chef they will be assigned to, and the chef does not know anything about the secret ingredients, nor do they get to see what’s in the shared pantry until noon,” Bivens says. She suspects “Chopped” chefs’ wide eyes “are not quite as real.”

Last year’s cook-off attracted a crowd of 300-400 and ended by 4 p.m.

Bivens says the partner training programs lie at the heart of the event. Eliada Homes, for example, arms students who are aging out of the treatment system with marketable culinary skills that increase the opportunity of earning a living wage.

“I’ve got an 18-year-old, and I know that if she were to leave the house, she would struggle to make it on her own,” says Bivens, “so the Elaida program really touched me.”

Similarly, GO Kitchen Ready and ABCCM’s programs train low-income adults and veterans, respectively, to empower themselves through the art and skill of food. Mountain Area Restaurant Vendors partnered with FRS for the first time this year in a bid to give back to the community and suggested adding local schools to the lineup.

“The schools’ food service director is under real, tight restraints with regards to what they can serve the students and how they can prepare the food,” Bivins says, “so the school food service is trying to make contacts with chefs and culinary professionals to help them enhance food flavors.”

In addition to promoting the event and connecting FRS with multiple vendors, MARV helped raise money for this year’s scholarships. One will be awarded to each county participating in Whacked!, to be passed along to a high school student interested in pursuing fields of culinary or nutrition after graduation.

Bivens says that anyone who is active or interested in commercial food operations is welcome to attend the event for demonstrations, specials, energy rebates, networking and even free knife sharpening. Plus, Melt Your Heart food truck will be on hand from 11 a.m. until about 2 p.m., serving lunch to those who work up an appetite during kitchen demos.

“[Attendees will] learn a lot, they’ll get to see a lot of equipment being demonstrated live throughout the day,” Bivens says. “It’s a lot of fun!”

Visit avl.mx/0v9 for more information about the event. Limited parking will be available on-site, but FRS will be available to recommend alternative lots and shuttle attendees from various to-be-determined spots.

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 Kat McReynolds
Kat studied entrepreneurship and music business at the University of Miami and earned her MBA at Appalachian State University. Follow me @katmAVL

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.