WNC Magazine’s Chefs Challenge Competitions debuted with a bang on Tuesday. Xpress photographer Jonathan Welch went behind the scenes to document the action as the chefs from Deerfield Retirement Community went head to head against the young bucks from the Grand Bohemian’s Red Stag Grill. The secret ingredient in this battle of the even-toed ruminants? Coffee. Trust me when I say that the audience was on the edge of their seats for the duration of the competition — and possibly also a bit jittery. WNC Magazine’s editor-in-chief, Eric Seeger, had this to say about the competition:
“Deerfield edged out Red Stag Grill by only 400 points (out of a total maximum of about 6,000 points for each team). While it may seem surprising that a team of chefs from a retirement community could do so well in this competition, Chef Shackelford has an impressive professional résumé of fine dining experience. And it goes to show that every chef will be a threat (and a treat) during this summer’s competitions.”
The WNC Chefs Challenge Competitions will be taking place every Tuesday for the duration of the summer. Tickets are selling fast for some of the more popular challenges — Pomodoros VS. the Admiral and Cucina 24 VS Tupelo Honey seem to be the hot tickets to get.
Next up: The Presidential Challenge: Corner Kitchen VS. Sunset Terrace, Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa, Asheville. As Seeger says in his blog post, “make your reservation here, you may just get a seat next to President Obama.”
Photos by Jonathan Welch
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