The chefs who will move on from the preliminary round to the regional round in the National Restaurant and Lodging Association Chef Showdown have been announced. Six of the chefs are from Charlotte, and will compete on August 19 at Central Piedmont Community College to advance to the finals: Cory Haigler of The Westin, Adam Reed of Santé, Matthew Shepard of The McNinch House, Paul Verica of The Stanley, Jamie Turner of Earl’s Grocery, and Mary Jayne Wilson of Amelie’s. Turner and Wilson will compete for Pastry Chef of the Year; the rest will compete for Chef of the Year.

The event is closed to the public and dishes will be rated by a panel of three judges, including Johnson & Wales professor and owner of Fenwick’s Catherine Rabb.

Local chefs took part in a preliminary cookoff at Heirloom Restaurant last month, with three judges scoring dishes that used local ingredients. The highest-scoring chefs were the ones to move on. In this round, chefs will again cook a dish and be judged on presentation, taste, and use of North Carolina ingredients. A regional round for the eastern part of the state will take place on August 12 in Raleigh. The highest scorers in the pastry and savory categories will be announced as the chefs of the year at the final event on Sept. 30 at the Angus Barn in Durham. There will also be people’s choice winners in each category; chefs will serve small bites and event attendees will vote for their favorite dishes.

Last year, Miranda Brown of The Asbury took home the NCRLA Pastry Chef of the Year. Let’s hope for a clean sweep this year. —Kristen Wile

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