Number of Competitors Face Off at the 2023 NCRLA Chef Showdown

In the largest NCRLA Chef Showdown competition to date, 75 chefs and 18 mixology teams tossed their hats in the ring for NCRLA’s seventh culinary and mixology summer competition.

Presented by Got To Be NC Agriculture, competing chefs go through preliminary and regional rounds where they prepare and serve dishes to a panel of judges, who are culinary experts working in the state. The judges critique the chefs on their presentation, taste, and use of local ingredients from North Carolina.

New this year are the “Undeniably Dairy Awards” to be presented at the Chef Showdown Grand Finale to the competitor who showcases the best use of NC dairy. Chefs are not required to use dairy products in their competition dishes, but if they do, they are eligible to be considered for this additional accolade presented by The Dairy Alliance.

In July, only 15 savory chefs and five pastry chefs will move on to compete in one of two regional culinary rounds of competition. The same 20 chefs will advance to cook at the Grand Finale at the Pavilion at the Angus Barn in Raleigh on August 14.

In addition to the culinary competition, 18 bartenders have teamed up with their local distilleries to compete in one of two regional rounds of mixology competition to be held in July in Winston-Salem. Only six teams will advance to the final round.

At the Grand Finale, all the finalists will recreate their beverages and tasting-sized portions of their dishes for attendees to sample as they compete for the coveted titles of NCRLA Chef of the Year, NCRLA Pastry Chef of the Year, and NCRLA Mixologist and Distillery of the Year. The crowd also gets to participate and judge the People’s Choice Awards, presented by the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission.

Monday, August 14, 6–8:30 pm

The Pavilion at the Angus Barn, Raleigh, NC

Open to the public!