Curry for dessert? That’s how Fire on the Dock rolls
“Is curry really an ingredient?” was the question around the Fire on the Dock dining room Wednesday night when curry was revealed as the secret ingredient for the evening’s battle. Ingredients are...
View ArticleRamp it up
Every great chef starts somewhere. Maybe it's a home kitchen, maybe it's in front of a McDonald's deep-fryer...The lucky ones who begin at North Carolina's new culinary school, The Chef's Academy in...
View ArticleCrackling candy, chocolate bacon and sugar-coated pork rinds
Fire on the Dock chef referee Laurence Willard always gives competing cooks this advice: “Dessert wins this thing.” OK, but what if the mystery ingredient is pork? Doesn’t matter, Willard says. “I’m...
View ArticleWinning classic French sauces
Pitted against the clock in an unfamiliar kitchen and forced to use ingredients of someone else’s choosing, chefs in the heat of competition might be tempted to trade fine sauces for doctored-up...
View ArticleWilmington chefs, humble celery get their day at Fire on the Dock
Wilmington chefs are out of the running in the Fire on the Dock cooking tournament, which crowns a winner next week, but they showed off so many talents that verify why the Port City has earned its...
View ArticleCooking classes galore!
Back to school is not just for kids. Sharpen your cooking skills with some of Wilmington's best chefs.
View ArticleBiscuit story at Fire on the Dock
Fire on the Dock master of ceremonies Jimmy Crippen advises the cooking competition’s attendees not to try to guess which chef is putting out which dish at the contests. “Mothers have been wrong,”...
View ArticleMake cream puffs like a professional pastry chef
Delicate, airy and light as they are, those little round pastries that encapsulate cream are in no way weaklings. They're among the most capable and dependable -- and easy -- elements of great cocktail...
View ArticleCooking lessons learned at 2014 Fire on the Dock
As the contest moves into its final battle tonight, I'm thinking back to the ideas I got during the 2014 tournament, part of the statewide Competition Dining Series that ultimately crowns an overall...
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