The N.C. Azalea Festival’s Chef’s Showcase will be held Feb. 1 at Hotel Ballast in Wilmington.

The luncheon serves as a kickoff event for the 2020 Azalea Festival, which will be held April 1-5. 

The inaugural Chef’s Showcase was held in 2018 as a way to highlight signature dishes from area chefs. This year’s event includes a seated, five-course meal with fine wine pairings, light entertainment, high-end silent auction items and a luxury vacation raffle.

The luncheon features two chefs from the greater Wilmington area, as well others as from Raleigh, Charlotte and Charleston, South Carolina. Here’s the lineup and menu, as posted to the event website:

• Chef Don Drake of Magnolias and Blossom in Charleston, South Carolina: Down South Egg Rolls with red pepper sauce, spicy mustard and peach   chutney
• Chef Andres Kaifer of Vidrio in Raleigh: Scallop Tartare with butternut squash espuma, puffed sorghum, preserved chili oil
• Chef Matthew Register of Southern Smoke in Garland: Heritage Farms smoked pork belly with stir fried collards and tomato chow chow
• Chef Nathan C. Sims of the Hotel Ballast in Wilmington: Kataifi wrapped Halibut with pea flower sauce, saffron parsnip puree, haricot vert
• Pastry Chef Jamie Turner of The Asbury in Charlotte: Ginger-Pickled Apple Panna Cotta with a hibiscus mirror, passion fruit coulis, molasses shortbread, white chocolate crumb

Tickets are $75 per person, and sponsorship opportunities are available. 

For more information and ticket sales, as well as biographies of each participating chef, visit the event's webpage. https://ncazaleafestival.org/event/chefs-showcase-kick-off-event/

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