Q.C. foodies know that our city’s chefs are among the crème de la crème, and the American Culinary Federation is all set to prove them right. On Monday, Feb. 20, two area chefs — Travis Dale, executive chef at The Point Lake and Golf Club in Mooresville, and Jean-Pierre Marechal, executive chef of the Charlotte Marriott City Center — will face each other, and a competitor from Virginia, in an Iron Chef style cook-off, vying for the title of American Culinary Federation’s 2012 Southeast Regional Chef of the Year. Unacquainted with our ambassador tastemakers? CL gives you the inside scoop.

• Chef Dale Travis

• Chef Jean-Pierre Marechal

Creative Loafing: Chefs can always pinpoint when they caught the cooking bug. What was that moment for you?

Chef Dale: When I was 10, my mother was in culinary school and she didn’t have a babysitter one night, so she took me and my brother to her class, where they were working on a banquet. One of the instructors asked us if we wanted to help. I started buttering herb toast, wearing the chef’s hat and apron, and I just knew.
Chef Marechal: At 6 years old I was already watching cooking shows. At 9, I taught my babysitter how to do a béchamel sauce, which I guess is very unusual. I was born to do this; I don’t know if I would be able to do anything else. I am very fortunate, not a lot of people love what they do.

How did you start paying your culinary dues?

Chef Dale: All through middle and high school, my mom did a lot of catering, and I would help her. When I was old enough to legally get a job, I worked the counter for her in a bakery.
Chef Marechal: I was 13 when I did my first catering banquet for 150 people in my mom’s kitchen. I needed to cook like 100 chickens and my mom’s oven only held six chickens, so I would cook them six at a time. I was so proud, it was magical.

Last year, I wrote about a new local clothing company that targeted craft beer enthusiasts. The launch of Batch Apparel spoke to the growing popularity of craft beer.

"Craft beer is a higher quality beer. It is supposed to be served at a certain temperature and certain way that the brewery comes up with," explained Tanner Fritz, co-owner of Batch Apparel, in that interview. "The whole idea is that craft beer is done in smaller amounts so it is not mass-produced."

As a testament to the attention craft beer is getting here locally, the Queen City Brewers Festival, a tasting event featuring Charlotte-area breweries, will take place at Neighborhood Theatre this weekend.

If you haven't gotten your tickets already, though, you've missed out. The festival will feature two tastings on Saturday, and both time slots are sold out.

But hey, that's all the more reason for you to check out our local breweries directly. Here are links to all of the Charlotte breweries that will be showing off their goods on Saturday. Cheers!

Ass Clown Brewing

Birdsong Brewing

Hops

Kind Beers

NoDa Brewing

Olde Mecklenburg Brewery

Rock Bottom Brewery

If you're counting items like achiote paste, frankincense tears and pure wasabi powder among your grocery list for the week, you may already be acquainted with the one-stop seasoning mecca that is Savory Spice Shop. Whether you're a regular or yet to be initiated, this Saturday's grand opening offers a full day of activities to satisfy the creative culinary soul.

Owners Amy and Scott MacCabe are kicking the day off at 9 a.m. The early bird gets the worm, or in this case, a free goodie bag of spices. Wendy Cardais of Cardais Gourmet Specialty Gift Foods will provide an assortment of delectable deserts and pastries. Personal Chef Dawn Maloney will serve up a curry demonstration from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., whipping up coconut curry chicken and herbal asparagus seasoned with Berbere (drool.)

The afternoon has Simplicity, a local professional organizing company, slated to share tips and best practices on how to clear out your old spices and organize the perfect spice cabinet to fit your lifestyle. If cleaning out the clutter ranks as high a priority for you this new year as it does for me, you won't want to miss this useful demonstration.

Saturday also marks the beginning of the Cash in your Cupboard promotion, offering customers who bring in competing spice containers $1 off a bottle of Savory Spice Shop's herbs, spices or blends.

Atherton Mill
2000 South Blvd., Ste. 150
980-225-5419

What? It's the name of a brewing company. And it's debuting its beers at VBGB on Jan. 20. This makes the N.C. Music Factory bar the only place in Charlotte to carry Ass Clown.

Ass Clown Brewing Company is located in Cornelius. It works to be a "green" brewing company that uses alternative energy, utilizing recylable materials and etc. More importantly, they grow their own hops.

Read more about Ass Clown Brewing by checking out this little diddy on Charlotte Beer.

If you haven't been to La Paz since it relocated to the Metropolitan from South End, tomorrow night — that's Jan. 19 — is just a good a night as any to check it out. Maybe better of a night, as the restaurant celebrates its grand opening with a shindig, sponsored by Paschal Promotions.

Specials during the grand opening party include:

$5 El Jimador Margaritas-The Original Margarita
$3 Bud Lights
$7 Wine Specials

$5 Bar bites menu to include Marinated Carne asada skewers, Crab Glautas, Portabella Tostada, Mango chicken shrimp wrap, and Tamarind Pork Nachos.

This event benefits The Charlotte Disc Association to support the World's Disc Golf Championships to be held in July 2012.

La Paz has been feeding Mexican food lovers in Charlotte for more than 32 years. The restaurant recently came under new ownership, but, according to the website, continues to "feature many new specialty dishes while still maintaining La Paz’s traditional favorites."

Valentine's Day tends to arouse strong opinions in people. Some honor St. Valentine by making reservations at overpriced restaurants and concocting the perfect gift for that special someone, while others may choose to forego the holiday's romantic implications altogether. Whether you're cozily coupled up, refusing to partake in Singles Awareness Day, or something in between, there remains one great equalizer V-Day equalizer: chocolate. Heart-shaped, truffles, cakes — you can have whatever you like. And on Feb. 4, you can have it in style.

BLT Steak will host an afternoon of "Bon Bons & Bubbly," hosted by pastry chef Rachael Burns. Participants will learn how to whip up delicious desserts perfect for Valentine's or any other occasion you may want to sweeten. Chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, chocolate bon bons and truffles will take center stage at this cocoa-centric event. A specialty chocolate martini demonstration is also available.

The Bon Bons & Bubbly class will be held Saturday, Feb. 4 from 2 p.m.- 4 p.m.. Cost is $45 per person, plus tax, and includes class materials, recipes and ingredients, with Champagne pairings available for an additional $12.00.

Reservations are required and can be made by calling 704-972-4380.

Whether you enjoyed getting your grub on during last summer's Charlotte Restaurant Week or you're yet to be initiated into the mouth-watering bang for your buck the promotion offers, this year's Winter 2012 Queen's Fest demands you make room in your week as well as your stomach. A record 101 restaurants will be participating, including a dozen first-timers, including Bernardin’s at Ratcliffe in Uptown Charlotte; Campania Cafe in Davidson; Fern, Flavors from the Garden in Plaza-Midwood; Waldhorn Restaurant in Pineville; Yama Asian Fusion in SouthPark; Jeffrey’s Restaurant in Mooresville; Osso Restaurant & Lounge in the N.C. Music Factory; and La Paz in the Metropolitan, plus several others.

Featuring three-course meals (or more) for $30, the event will take place from Friday, Jan. 20 to Sunday, Jan. 29. Carolina's Medical Center is this year's sponsor.

You can browse the menu selections offered at participating restaurants, as well as strongly recommended reservation links, at the newly remodeled Charlotte Restaurant Week website.

For a dessert indulger like myself, those have to be the three greatest words to put together for the name of an event.

The first ever Sweet Tooth Festival happens on Sunday, Feb. 19. That means you've got a month and a half to diet, exercise and go hard-core on that New Year's resolution to lose weight so you can reward yourself by attending this event.

Scheduled for 2 p.m.-6 p.m., the sampling festival will feature 25 of the area’s top bakeries, chocolatiers, pastry artisans or home-based businesses at Black Lion (10605 Park Road). If you love all things sweet, this is where you'll want to be. Tickets are $25, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit The Joe Martin ALS Foundation. For more information, visit their website.

Winos and foodies (who DOESN'T fit the bill?), you can breathe easy now: Charlotte Wine and Food Weekend will be held April 18 through 22, and tickets for all events are now available online.

Every two years, fans of fine food and wine flock to town for one of the Southeast's largest wine events and fundraisers. A tequila dinner will be held at at Pacos, Tacos & Tequila on Wednesday, April 18. Other notable events include:

• Wednesday April 18- Golf Tournament held at The Golf Club at Ballantyne. Shotgun start at 8:30am on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 and be followed by an Awards Luncheon. Players with a hole-in-one could win a brand new Lincoln.

• Thursday, April 19 - Charlotte’s Largest Dinner Party — All across the Queen City restaurants will be hosting top vintners from across the country.

• Friday, April 20 — Big Bottles & Blues sponsored by RBC Wealth Management —Urban Garden adjoining The Ritz-Carlton, is the largest event of the weekend typically drawing more than 500 attendees.

• Saturday, April 21 — Vintner Tasting — Scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at Founder’s Hall.

• Saturday, April 21 -The Grand Gala & Live Auction —evening event at The Ritz-Carlton.

• Sunday, April 22 — B3 Burgers, Bloodies and Brews Brunch of Champions. The new event is sponsored by Wells Fargo and held at The Green uptown. The outdoor event will include live music, specialty drinks by Moet Hennessey USA and an eclectic brunch by Perfect Plate Catering.

Council for Children’s Rights, Second Harvest Food Bank Metrolina-BackPack Program, Pat’s Place and Charlotte Community Health Clinic have all been chosen as recipients of funds raised at the event.

The Ritz-Carlton, the event's host hotel, is accepting reservations online and offering a special room rate.

For more information, check out the Facebook page or follow the event's Twitter @CLTWineandFood. Check the website for tickets at www.charlottewineandfood.org or call 704-338-9463 (WINE).

Tired of eating the same dishes year after year during the holidays? Why not put a gourmet spin on your Christmas menu and give your taste buds something to be jolly about?

Blue Restaurant & Bar, known for a menu featuring a flavor profile reflective of various international culinary traditions, is offering a peek into the inner workings of its kitchen. Executive Chef Gene Briggs, the creator of the restaurant's multi-cultural menu, will host a cooking class designed to dazzle.

Chef Briggs abides by a “farm to table” cooking philosophy, with fresh ingredients being the blank canvass necessary to begin preparing every meal. On the first Saturday of each month his “Cooking with Chef Gene” class instructs participants on the simple steps that his recipes require. This month's “Mediterranean Christmas Classics” edition features the following menu items:

Mulligatawny Soup

Sweet Potato Pie
With amaretto whipped cream

Each dish is served and paired with fine wines available for purchase at a discount price. The class will be held Saturday, Dec. 3, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Call 704-927-2583 for more information.