Charlotte-area food notes
Charleston, meet Charlotte
Five Charlotte chefs will be in Charleston to cook for Charleston Wine + Food March 2-6. Blake Hartwick of Bonterra, Chris Coleman of The Asbury, Bruce Moffett of Barrington’s (and more), Michael Shortino of Futo Buta and Joe Kindred of Kindred will cook at events all around the city. Details and tickets: www.charlestonwineandfood.com.
Jennifer Brantley
Feed the birds
Tickets are on sale now for Talon to Table, a farm-to-fork event April 16 to raise money for the Carolina Raptor Center. The dinner will be held at Extravaganza Depot, 1610 N. Tryon St., with Thane Maynard of the Cincinnati Zoo and NPR’s “90-Second Naturalist” as keynote speaker. Tickets start at $150. Details: talontotable.com.
There will be gin
Durham Distillery, recently named N.C. Distillery of the Year, will come to Charlotte Monday for the Community Supper series at Dogwood Southern Bar + Table, 49054 Ashley Park Lane, near SouthPark. Conniption gins will be featured in a four-course dinner with cocktail pairings for $50. Details and reservations: 704-910-4919.
Cook-off supports teacher network
The STEM 2 Fork Culinary Competition, 5-9 p.m. March 11, features culinary teams from Charlotte Mecklenburg high schools. The event at UNC Charlotte Center City, 320 E. Ninth St., also features help from chefs Clark Barlowe and Philip Lloyd. Tickets are $35. Details: gtncharlotte.org.
It’s like magic
Make your own version of a “magic shell” topping for ice cream: Combine 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/8 teaspoon instant espresso powder and a pinch of salt in a small bowl and stir until espresso dissolves. Place 4 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate and 1/3 cup coconut oil in a separate bowl and microwave at 50 percent power until melted, about 3 minutes. Whisk in vanilla mixture and 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder, then cool before using. Store in the refrigerator up to 2 months. To use it, microwave for a minute or so until melted and smooth.
Michelle Stark, Tampa Bay Times
This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Charlotte-area food notes."