Saturday, August 14, 2010

Asheville Wine & Food Festival 2010
presented by WNC Magazine


 So I went to the Asheville Wine & Food Festival 2010 this weekend, and was able to convince my wife, Mom, and Dad to go with me/ drive. There were a ton of vendors there, and I spent the afternoon taking photos (below), and sampling wines (some really good reds) and food, many of them from local and slowfood providers. My favorites were a local farm cheese, sunburst trout, and a duck confit gumbo over truffle grits. Also the Western NC Chef's Challenge Finale cook-off!


Duck Confit Gumbo





Local Tomatoes










MAIN EVENT/ WNC Chefs Challenge Finale


The highlight of the afternoon was the finale of the WNC Chefs Challenge. From May through August, 12 local restaurants battled in elimination round cook-offs, until there were two left: the Inn on Biltmore estate and Curras Nuevo Cuisine.


But THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE! So they threw down Saturday, Iron Chef style. Secret Ingredient: Trigger Fish provided by a Charlotte, NC fishmonger, backed up by a pantry full of local produce [?]. Each team made three dishes, and plated and served in alternating order. There was a local celebrity and foodie panel of 7 judges who scored each plate. Total scores determined the winner.  Also, there was a audience “Judges Table,” with lucky winners from a raffle to support SlowFood Asheville.





 I snuck backstage to grab some photos of the competeing dishes. In the end, the Inn on Biltmore won, but I got to taste Curras’s last dish, which was scored the highest. They made a dessert-esque fish dish. It was salty and sweet, founded on a coconut cream base, and quite good!  Below are the dishes in the order served, minus the first dish from Biltmore (didn't get a photo).









  




P.S. I also made a meal that evening, and of course, another 2 cakes. I’ll post later…upcoming: Quasi-Catering.

1 comment:

  1. What a fun event! I love Asheville and they have developed such an incredible food and wine scene over the past decade. How lucky to attend the festival!

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