Are YOU ready to be the judge? The Got To Be NC Competition Dining Series recently announced the participating chefs and brackets in the Final Fire competition. You don't want to miss out on this interactive dining event.

Final Fire will conclude the statewide chef competition and determine N.C.’s champion. Chef Dean Thompson of Flights at the Renaissance Hotel is representing Raleigh during this culinary showdown. The four competitive dinners will be hosted at Renaissance Raleigh North Hills Hotel at 4100 Main at North Hills St.

The series begins on Nov. 20 and concludes on Nov. 23. The Got To Be NC Competition Dining Champions from Fire on the Rock, Fire on the Dock, Fire in the Triad, Fire in the Triangle and Fire in the City will compete. The chefs drew knives to determine the preliminary match-ups, which are listed below with each chef leading a team of three:

Nov. 20: Noble’s Grille, Winston-Salem (John Bobby) vs. Mimosa Grill, Charlotte (Jon Fortes)
Nov. 21: Flights at Renaissance Raleigh Hotel, Raleigh (Dean Thompson) vs. winner of Nov. 20
Nov. 22: Persimmons Restaurant, New Bern (Gerry Fong) vs. Red Stag Grill, Asheville (Adam Hayes)
Nov. 23: Battle between winner of Nov. 21 and Nov. 22

During Final Fire, diners savor each course in a blind tasting alongside a panel of culinary and celebrity judges in a series of four dinner competitions. Each evening, two restaurants “battle” it out side-by-side in a single elimination format. Diners savor a six-course menu (three dishes from each chef without knowing whose food they’re tasting) created around a “featured” ingredient. For each dinner, the ingredient will come from a N.C. farmer or artisan producer. The featured ingredient is revealed to the chefs only an hour before they start cooking, and it must be used in each of the three courses. Diners, alongside culinary and guest judges, will rate each dish and determine who moves on to the next round and who goes home. Who knows what the chefs will make, like Dean Thompson's "Homer Simpson," which included a doughnut with beef sprinkles.

At stake in Final Fire is $4,000, a hand-forged set of knives from Charlotte-based Ironman Forge and a trip to Napa Valley, Cali. to the pro chef program at the Culinary Institute of America Greystone campus, compliments of Kikkoman. The runner-up receives $1,000.

Event reservations cost $119, each excluding a beverage, tax and a service charge. Reservations open today at 7pm online. Diners can attend as many dinners as they like. The finals are expected to sell out in 24 hours, so make sure you're ready! You don't want to miss out on this culinary extravaganza.

Written by local Foodie, Kristen. Follow her foodie adventures on Twitter!