What’s Cookin’ at the 2024 NC State Fair

Its October and that means its time for the 2024 NC State Fair held in Raleigh NC.

It is my pleasure to be in Raleigh for the 10-day stretch of the NC State Fair, this year from Thursday October 17 to Sunday October 27, 2024.

And, I am doubly excited to be chatting about all the fun that is to come on the GotToBeNC cooking stage with WRAL’s Ken Smith. I’ll be on air with Ken at 9:10 the morning of October 18. Tune in or live stream if you can. If not I’ll be posting a video of the interview, here later in the week.

My home-away-from-home?

You’ll find me inside the historic Dorton Arena Building, at the GotToBeNC cooking stage, hosting 2-3 individual cooking demos each day at 1, 3 or 5 pm. Keep reading for the list of each days demo’s, chefs and farmers.

This year, as last, the cooking stage will be surrounded by the GotTobeNC Pavilion of local North Carolina vendors.

The 2024 NC State Fair GotToBeNC Cooking Stage

Enjoy 2-3 chef-driven cooking demonstrations each day of the fair.  We’ll kick things off this year on Friday Oct 18, with demos at 3 and 5 pm.

Nearly 30 chefs from across the state will share recipes and show you how to cook, eat and drink with locally sourced North Carolina ingredients. 

At many of the demos, chefs will pair up with NC farmers and producers to talk about where our food comes from. This year, while farmers and producers from Western NC were unable to attend, I’ve worked hard to incorporate their products as a show of support for all they do and are doing as they are all recovery from the tremendous impact of Hurricane Helene.

Eat Local, Drink Local

At each of our cooking stage demos, fairgoers will watch the preparation of new recipes featuring local product, produce and proteins at each demo 

But that’s not all. On the 2024 cooking stage we are drinking local as well as eating local. Each chefs demo will be paired with an award-winning NC wine.

Join Me Onstage at the GotToBeNC Chefs’ Table

Seating is available for each of the cooking demos. Fairgoers can expect giveaways, trivia contests and, as we have done in years past, a chance to come up onstage to eat with the featured chefs at a special Chef’s Table.

As always or chef’s table will be set with bottles of Le Bleu water and some fun GotToBeNC swag.

At each individual demo, four to six lucky people from the crowd will get to come onstage to sit at the best seat in the house.

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.

Here’s How it Works

Each of the cooking demos will run about 45 mins ; and I’ll be sharing all the action on the cooking stage on my Instagram and Facebook social media feeds. I will try my best to write a blog post recap or two of all the fun, during the week and a half ahead. Stay tuned for lots of photos and all the tips and tricks after the fact.

Here’s a quick run down of all you can expect at this years cooking stage. I’ll also be posting videos of my favorite fair foods each day on insta, so you don’t want to miss that either.

Here’s the 2024 Schedule for the NC State Fair GotToBeNC Cooking Stage

Friday Oct 18

3 pm – NC Dairy Delicious Sweet Treats  with Pastry Chef Tie Whitaker of Buttermilk Boutique in Clayton NC  & Dairy Farmer Randy Lewis of Ran Lew Dairy in Snow Camp, NC

5 pm – Family Friendly Mocktails with NCRLA 2024 Mixologist of the Year, Miguel Angel Latorre, Jr. of Revival1869 in Clayton, NC, featuring Mighty Muscadine Grape Juices

Kick off the Weekend with us at the GotTobeNc Cooking Stage

Sat Oct 19

1pm – Winner, Winner NC Pork  Dinner  with Chef Michael Beers of River Run Country Club in Davidson NC featuring Colfax Creek Pork Chops and Tommy Wheeler of Tidewater Grain Co in Oriental NC

3 pm – THE BEST Fried Chicken Ever   with John  Mallette from Southern Breeze Seafood in Jacksonville NC and House of Raeford in Rose Hill NC

5 pm – Cooking with NC Beef  – Chef Michael Beers River Run Country Club in Davidson NC with Proffitt Family Farm ground Brisket

Sun Oct 20

1 pm – Cooking with NC Seafood  with Chef Jamie Davis of The Hackney in Washington NC with Ana Shellem of Shell’em Seafood in Wrightsville Beach NC with celerity sous chef, Ken Smith of WRAL

3 pm – Under the Sea: Hidden Gems – More from Chef Jamie Davis of The Hackney in Washington NC with Ana Shellem of Shell’em Seafood in Wrightsville Beach NC

5 pm – Fall Seafood Dinner  with Chef Luke Owens of Native Fine Diner in Greenville SC with  Ana Shellem of Shell’em Seafood in Wrightsville Beach NC

Monday Oct 21 and Tuesday Oct 22

Monday Oct 21

3 pm – Cooking with Cast Iron  with Chef Kevin Ruiz of Oro in Raleigh NC with Jason Allen of Carolina Cooker in Garner NC

5 pm  – Cooking with NC Beef  with Chef Nick Chavez of Dough House Pizza Co in Wilmington NC and Wilders Wagyu in Turkey NC

Tuesday Oct 22 –

1pm – Sweetly Southern  – Pastry Chef Savanna Brodar of the Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst NC with Tommy Wheeler of Tidewater Grain Co in Oriental NC

3 pm –Let’s Create the Next New State Fair Food!  with Chef Rich Carter of Catering Works at the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh NC 

5 pm  – Fall Family Dinner for Two Four or More  with Chef Rick Sloan of the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh NC

Then, Enjoy A Day of How to Drink Local 

Wednesday Oct 23 –

 3 pm – Crafting Local Cocktails and Mocktails –  How to Start   with Mixologist David Bowen, of easy talk in Winston-Salem NC and Liberty & Plenty Distiller in Durham NC

5 pm – Crafting Local Cocktails and Mocktails – Shake & Stir it Up with Mixologist David Bowen of easy talk in Winston-Salem NC featuring Liberty & Plenty Distillery in Durham NC 

Rounding out the week with these NC chefs

Thursday Oct 24 –

1 pm  – Cooking from the Caribbean with Chef Lemar Farrington of Amalieä Dining & Events in Raleigh/Durham

3 pm  – Let’s Cook with What’s In Season with Chef Ashleigh Fleming of Ripe Revival serving communities in Eastern NC with Wilders Wagyu and Smithfield Pork

5 pm – Take a Walk on the Sweeter Side with Pastry Chef Tie Whitaker of Buttermilk Boutique in Clayton NC 

Friday Oct 25 –

1 pm – Cooking with NC Beef with Chef Andres Prussing from STOKE at the Charlotte Marriott City Center  and Wilders Wagyu from Turkey NC

3 pm – A Taste of Benin with Chef Adé Carrena of Dounou Cuisine ; Keeping it local with House of Raeford  Chicken from Rose Hill NC

5 pm – Cooking with NC Pork with Chef Andres Prussing from STOKE at the Charlotte Marriott City Center

Don’t Miss the Last Weekend of the 2024 NC State Fair

Saturday Oct 26 –

1 pm – How to Butcher a Fresh Caught NC Tuna with Captain John Mallette of Southern Breeze Seafood and  chef Daniel Murray of Cypress Hall in New Bern NC  

3 pm – Cooking with Local Tuna and Carolina Gold Rice  with Chef Daniel Murray of Cypress Hall in New Bern NC and Tommy Wheeler of Tidewater Grain Company in Oriental NC

5 pm – Shake It Up – Creative Craft Cocktails with NCRLA 2024 Mixologist of the Year, Miguel Angel Latorre, Jr. of Revival1869 in Clayton, NC featuring Broadslab Distillery in Benson NC

Sunday Oct 27 –

1 pm – Fabulous Fall Desserts  with Pastry Chef Emily Parker of  Sweet Violets and the Heart Bakers in Greenville NC

3 pm – Cooking with NC Seafood with  Chef Keith Rhodes  of Catch in Wilmington NC 

5 pm –  Sweet Treats for Fall  with Pastry Chef Emily Parker of Sweet Violets and  Heart Bakers in Greenville NC