It was Team Ceviche’s vs. Team Pine Valley Market in the finale of the Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series on Thursday at Bluewater Waterfront Grill.
Team Ceviche’s pulled off the Battle Wilmington win with a narrow 1.5 point advantage over Team Pine Valley Market and will now move on to the state competition.
The battle’s secret ingredients, revealed to each team at noon on the day of competition, were Goodnight Brothers Country Ham and Scott Farm White Sweet Potatoes.
This year’s competition allowed for “dream teams,” teams comprised of staff from up to three different restaurants working together. Ceviche’s was the only local team made up entirely of their own staff -- executive chef Sam Cahoon and sous chefs Edson Juarez and Eric Smith.
Cahoon took part in previous Wilmington battles while working under chef Josh Petty at Sweet n Savory. (Petty now operates Cast Iron Kitchen.) He said he has always looked forward to leading a team of his own.
“I really wanted a Wilmington restaurant to win the local series,” Cahoon said. “As a Wilmington native it’s an honor to represent my home city at the state competition.”
Cahoon said the recognition that comes from taking part in competitions and local events is important for a young restaurant like Ceviche’s.
“Wilmington is a smaller market, and we’re familiar with a lot of the other restaurants here,” Cahoon said. “But now we’ll be going up against some very experienced chefs at the state level.”
And so he and his team will spend the next month or so practicing their skills and reading up on their competition in preparation for their Nov. 12 battle in Raleigh. They will face team Vidalia Boom of Vidalia restaurant in Boone, the winners of Battle Winston-Salem.
Tickets for the Battle of the Champions events will be available the first week in October.
The Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series aims to highlight North Carolina products and ingredients and showcase culinary talent throughout the state.
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