Two Charlotte chefs will battle it out at the Ten Paces Dinner Series
On Friday, Oct. 13, Chef Chris Coleman of Stoke and Chef Nicolas Daniels of Loft & Cellar face each other in what they’re calling Charlotte’s first food showdown at Ten Paces Dinner Series. The two chefs will compete against one another by trying to persuade guests to order their dishes.
Chefs Coleman and Daniels started their friendship when they were working next door to one another at The Asbury at the Dunhill Hotel and Wooden Vine, respectively.
“How neighboring chefs do, we borrow everything from each other when we’re out (of ingredients), we talk; we need a break, we go outside and grab some coffee,” said Daniels. “It stems into a friendship that way.”
Coleman describes this time as neighbors a little bit differently.
“We always kind of had a friendly rivalry there because we were right next door to each other and competing for the same guests, in our minds anyway,” he said.
Coleman admitted that there was trash talking even back then.
As their careers took them to different restaurants in Charlotte, they kept in touch. The idea of a duel between Coleman and Daniels was inspired by Atlanta’s Gunshow restaurant’s “Hired Guns.” That series offers a similar experience to this first installment of Ten Paces. (Subsequent Ten Paces events will have other themes.)
“I’m a pretty competitive person,” said Coleman. “Anytime I get to compete, I try to see how I can outdo the other guy or girl. Nic has a very outgoing personality so having the two of us competing against each other and cooking in the same room should be fun, should be lively and there should be good food.”
The five-course dinner
The dinner will be a five-course meal beginning with appetizers and ending with dessert. The first four courses will have a protein such as oysters, pork, seafood, lamb or chicken. The chefs will apply their distinct style of cooking to create their dishes around that specific ingredient.
The chefs have unique ways of cooking and this will be obvious as they begin to sell their wares. Daniels’ emphasis is on international food and believes that bringing in the best products from wherever he can get them is of utmost importance. Alternatively, Coleman’s menus are typically locally sourced with a focus on Southern fine dining.
The chefs will wear microphones and walk around trying to convince the dinner guests to order their dish. Yes – they will be personally hocking their meals at this event.
“We are basically going out and peddling our food to the masses that bought tickets,” said Daniels. “It’s going to be fun-spirited and mean-spirited jokes against each other, trying to get the customers to pick our dish over the other.”
Dinner guests will be able to watch the leaderboard to see which chef is ahead in the competition. And the winner with the most dishes sold gets the bragging rights.
The duel starts here
It wasn’t hard to get these chefs to start talking smack before the big day.
“We’ve faced each other a couple of times and I’ve won every time,” said Coleman. “I don’t know why he wants to try and battle me again.”
Daniels said, “Chef Chris likes to talk about his dreams of always beating me, but he forgets where this all started… a big L for him at Chef’s Unchained.”
Chef’s Unchained was a short-lived competition where two chefs took over food trucks and ran a special themed menu, Coleman said.
Want dibs on seeing who gets the bragging rights to this latest contest in October? You’ll just have to saddle up to the table and see.
Details
-6:30 p.m. Showdown Reception; 7:30 p.m. Showdown, Friday, October 13, 2017
-Stoke at Charlotte Marriott City Center, 100 W. Trade St.
-Tickets are $85 per person (not including taxes and gratuity) and may be purchased here.
-Craft cocktail pairings will be available for an additional cost.
-Only 70 seats are available.
Photos: Reuben Bloom, Rick Lew, Courtesy of Stoke and Loft & Cellar
This story was originally published September 25, 2017 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Two Charlotte chefs will battle it out at the Ten Paces Dinner Series."