2025 NCRLA Chef Showdown Awards Top Honors

The North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association (NCRLA) hosted its ninth Chef Showdown on August 4, 2025. Presented by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, this annual competition promotes and spotlights the talent of chefs, pastry chefs, mixologists, and the local products available across the state of North Carolina.

The 2025 preliminary rounds of culinary competition featured talented North Carolina chefs and pastry chefs vying for high honors in this year’s Showdown. In the preliminary rounds, chefs and mixologists compete in culinary and mixology preliminary competitions. Chefs whip up savory or sweet creations, while mixologists, each paired with an NC distillery, blend craft cocktails and mocktails with flair. Then are the semi-finals, which are determined by scores from the preliminary rounds. There, eighteen chefs and eight pastry chefs compete in one of two regional culinary semi-final rounds. Only twelve mixology teams move on to the semi-finals to compete for a shot at one of six spots in the Grand Finale.

Following the preliminary and semi-final rounds, 20 of these chefs – 15 savory chefs and five pastry chefs – become finalists, as well as 6 teams of mixologists and distilleries. The Grand Finale culminated on August 4 at Bay 7 in Durham, North Carolina. This is the only round of competition that is open to the public, often drawing 500+ attendees eager for a taste of local cuisine. From these finalists were named the NCRLA Chef of the Year, Pastry Chef of the Year, Mixologist & Distillery of the Year, and Best Mocktail of the Year.

Two additional sets of awards were announced at the Grand Finale: the People’s Choice Awards and the Undeniably Dairy Awards. The People’s Choice Awards recognized fan favorites for Best Savory Dish, Best Dessert, Best Cocktail, and Best Mocktail. The Undeniably Dairy Awards presented by The Dairy Alliance honored competitors who creatively use North Carolina real dairy products in their dishes and drinks. While dairy use isn’t mandatory for general entries in the Showdown, those incorporating it could win one of four awards presented by The Dairy Alliance at the Grand Finale: Best Savory Dish, Best Dessert, Best Cocktail, and Best Mocktail.

Here are the recipes and creators awarded in 2025.

2025 NCRLA Chef of the Year—Chef Mauricio Huarcaya of Gusto Peruano, Wilmington
2025 NCRLA Pastry Chef of the Year—Pastry Chef Luis Rojas of Charlotte Marriott City Center, Charlotte
2025 NCRLA Distillery of the Year—Cook’s Mill Whiskey, Raleigh
2025 NCRLA Mixologist of the Year—Mixologist Sarah McCabe of The Longleaf Hotel, Raleigh
2025 NCRLA The People’s Choice Awards Best Savory Dish—Chef Mauricio Huarcaya of Gusto Peruano, Wilmington
2025 NCRLA The People’s Choice Awards Best Dessert—Pastry Chef Luis Rojas of Charlotte Marriott City Center, Charlotte
2025 NCRLA The People’s Choice Awards Best Cocktail—Mixologist Natalie Takacs of End of Days Distillery, Wilmington
2025 NCRLA The People’s Choice Awards Best Mocktail—Mixologist Natalie Takacs of End of Days Distillery, Wilmington
2025 NCRLA Undeniably Dairy Award for Best Savory Dish—Chef Bobby McFarland of Glasshouse Kitchen, Durham
2025 NCRLA Undeniably Dairy Award for Best Dessert—Pastry Chef Michael Beers of River Run Country Club, Davidson
2025 NCRLA Undeniably Dairy Award for Best Cocktail—Mixologist Natalie Takacs of End of Days Distillery, Wilmington
2025 NCRLA Undeniably Dairy Award for Best Mocktail—Mixologist Natalie Takacs of End of Days Distillery, Wilmington

Congratulations to all 2025 NCRLA Chef Showdown competitors!

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