by TM Petaccia

2023 Neighborhood Cook-off winner Clayton Sanders with wife Adrianne and daughter Sloane. TM Petaccia/UP

At the end, it was North End vs LoSo in the battle of ​​which Charlotte community can boast top chef. When all was said and done, Chef Clayton Sanders of LoSo’s Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen was left standing as the Neighborhood Cook-off Champion.

It was the second year for the local chef competition at the Charlotte StrEATs Festival, part of Charlotte Shout, held Sunday at Uptown’s Gateway Village. Curated this year by The Plaid Penguin, the StrEATs Neighborhood Cook-off featured eight local chefs representing city neighborhoods.

The first rounds were conducted by fan voting. Each chef submitted a dish each felt best represented their communities. Voters selected the four chefs who would go on to compete on stage at yesterday’s festival.

On the StrEATs main stage, Round 1 pitted Brenton Ebersold of North End’s Bleu Barn and his cornmeal-crusted North Carolina rainbow trout, market relish, arugula, and chipotle-maple aioli against Plaza Midwood’s Brandon Sarkis of Grinning Mule and his Angus beef sliders with special burger sauce and house pickles – with Ebersold emerging victorious.

Winning dish by Chef Clayton Sanders of LoSo’s Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen. TM Petaccia/UP

Round 2 had South Charlotte’s Chef Adjoa Courtney of Cooking With Joya and her vegan crab cake with roasted okra salad, sweet corn, and scallion remoulade going up against Sanders and his local stout-braised oxtail with smoked chili rosemary mustard spaetzle and local mushrooms. Sanders took that heat.

Both semifinal rounds were emceed by WBTV’s Kristen Miranda with a panel of judges consisting of Gene Briggs, executive chef of Legion Brewing; Kris Reid, executive director of Piedmont Culinary Guild; and Will Williams personal chef and owner of catering company Seasoned Provisions. Dishes were judged heavily on tastes and how well they represented their neighborhoods, with presentation also a contributing factor. Each semifinal winner received a cast iron skillet from Smithey Ironware Company.

The finals were emceed by Food Network celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli, with Majid Amoorpour (chef/owner, The Everyday Market), D’Anne Hotchkiss (owner of Wutta Nut! Pecans), and Kristen Wile (editor, Unpretentious Palate) as judges.

Food Network celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli talks with Brenton Ebersold of North End’s Bleu Barn about his dish. TM Petaccia/UP

For the finals, Ebersold and Sanders prepared the same dishes, but with a slight alteration. In a Food Network-style twist, each chef had to incorporate a secret ingredient, Wutta Nut! Pecans, into their dishes. Ebersold’s dish was meant to reflect North Charlotte’s you-buy, we-fry past and present, while Sanders took inspiration from LoSo’s heavy German influence. Ebersold ground spicy pecans into his cornmeal coating, while Sanders toasted and ground Wutta Nut!’s rosemary & black pepper pecans and incorporated them into his spaetzle ingredients.

The Cook-off audience watched as the finals’ judges took an extended amount of time debating the merits of each dish (including a little finger pointing). In the end, Sanders was named 2023 Charlotte StrEATs Festival Neighborhood Cook-Off Champion.

Sanders received a wood-carved championship plaque, $500, plus additional Smithey Ironware for his win.

“This is awesome,” Sanders says. “It makes me very happy to represent LoSo in this event. Our area is growing very fast and I know even better things are coming to our neighborhood.”