It’s time for the annual NC State Fair.
Consider this your invitation to join in all the fun as I join my good friend Got To Be NC’s own Chef Chad Blackwelder, as the host the Got To Be NC Cooking Stage inside Dorton Arena , October 13-23, 2022

While there is certainly a lot going on outside on the fairgrounds, I encourage you to step inside the GotToBeNC Pavilion ( aka Dorton Arena) for a taste of all that is local.
Join me for three chef-driven cooking demonstrations each day of the fair, as you watch the preparation of new recipes featuring local product, produce and proteins at each demo. Seating is available and we’ll have fun giveaways, trivia contests and a chance to go up onstage to eat with each our featured chefs.
Eat and Drink Local at the NC State Fair Cooking Stage
Chefs, Mixologists, celebrity chefs, farmers, producers and wine makers from across the state, from the mountains to the coast, will share recipes and show you how to cook, eat and drink with locally sourced North Carolina ingredients.
At each demo, 4 lucky people from the crowd will get to join us onstage to sit at the best seat in the house. Our Chefs’ Table participants will enjoy a ringside view of all the action, get photos taken with each presenting chefs and enjoy plated portions of each of the dishes created during each individual demo. There will be chefs’ table gift bags as well.
In Case You Missed It – Watch This
Click here to see the scoop I shared with Ken Smith of WRAL in Raleigh NC.
And Now, Here’s the 2022 NC State Fair Cooking Stage Line Up
Cooking demos will run 45 mins to an hour. Recipes will be available online at HeidiBillottoFood.com and at GotToBeNC.com
Here’s the line up:
Thursday Oct 13
3 pm – Chef Ricky Moore of SaltBox Seafood Joint in Durham
5 pm – Heidi Billotto cooks with Celebrity chef Ken Smith of WRAL -TV
Friday Oct 14 Cooking with NC Sweetpotatoes
1pm – Chef Winde Jackson-Davis of Winde Jackson Cakes in Rocky Mount
3pm – Chef Tie Whitaker of Buttermilk Boutique in Clayton NC
5pm – Chef Chad Blackwelder of the NC Department of Agriculture
Saturday Oct 15
1pm – GotToBeNc Surf and Turf with Chef Jamie Davis of The Hackney in Washington NC
3 pm and 5 pm – Cocktails, Mocktails and Charcuterie with Mixologist David Bowen of The Ginger Fox in Winston-Salem
Sunday Oct 16
1 pm – GotToBeNC chef Chad Blackwelder Cooking with NC Seafood
3 pm – Chef Keith Rhodes of Catch Restaurant in Wilmington -Cooking with NC beef
5 pm – Chef Keith Rhodes of Catch Restaurant in Wilmington Cooking with NC Seafood
For the week of Oct 17-23
Monday Oct 17
1 pm – Chef Oscar Johnson of Jimmy Pearls in Charlotte
3 pm – Chef Malik Williams of Tap at 1918 in Rocky Mount
5 pm – Cooking with Shipley Beef from Vilas NC
Tuesday Oct 18 – Cooking with NC Eggs
1 pm – Regina Triché, the Waffle Lady from The Hampton Inn in Jacksonville NC. You can read more about Regina, here and here
3 pm – Chef Kevin Ruiz from Bendito in Raleigh NC
5 pm – Regina Triché, the Waffle Lady from The Hampton Inn in Jacksonville NC
Wed Oct 19 –
1 pm – Chuck Hall from Tidewater Grain Co. and Randy Lewis from Ran Lew Dairy

3 pm – NC Seafood with Capt. John Mallette from Southern Breeze Seafood in Jacksonville, NC
5 pm – Sauce it up with GotToBeNc’s Chef Chad Blackwelder and TonTon Sauces from Raleigh
Thursday Oct 20 –
1 pm – Cooking with NC Eggs and 1Eatz from Raleigh
3 pm – Chef Adé Carrena of Iléwa West African Foods from Raleigh
5 pm – Heidi Billotto cooks with Celebrity Chef Kitty Kinnin of Sound Palate podcast and 96.1 BBB Radio
Here’s the final weekend line up
Friday Oct 21 –
1 pm – Chef Adé Carrena of Iléwa West African Foods in Raleigh
3 pm – Eating Locally with Chef Chris Bugher of AB Tech in Asheville

5 pm – Eating Locally with Chef Chris Bugher of AB Tech in Asheville
Saturday Oct 22 –
1, 3 and 5 pm – NC Local Farm to Table Dinners from Chef Steven Hertz of AB Tech Culinary School in Asheville
Sunday Oct 23 –
1 pm – Chef Amanda Ezzell of Ezzells Catering from Warsaw NC
3 pm – Seasonal Sweets with Pastry Chef Savanna Broder of The Grand Bohemian Hotel in Charlotte
5 pm – Seasonal Sweets with Pastry Chef Savanna Broder of The Grand Bohemian Hotel in Charlotte.