Shrimp 'n Grits Throwdown at the Carolina Inn

Shrimp 'n Grits Throwdown at the Carolina Inn (Photo by Bridget Whelan).

On Saturday, the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill sponsored a Shrimp 'n Grits Throwdown.  Dan and I like Shrimp 'n Grits, and we like the Carolina Inn, but unfortunately I was home recuperating from eye surgery and missed this.  But I'm sharing some photos by Bridget Whelan from WRAL.  So let's vicariously enjoy this.

The event enjoyed by 200 patrons of the Carolina Inn was a sold-out fund raiser for TABLE, a local charity benefiting children who are at-risk for hunger.

Trey Cleveland's winning dish (Photo by Bridget Whelan).

Seven local chefs prepared shrimp and grits, and the judges chose Trey Cleveland from Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill as the winner with his dish: a crisp fried grit cake topped with shrimp and a creamy mushroom sauce.

Attendees voted for their favorite and chose the dish of Vimala Rajendran  of Vimala's Curry Blossom Cafe: spicy shrimp, full of Indian curry flavors.

Fan's favorite: curried shrimp and grits. (Photo by Bridget Whelan).

For a full account of this event and for more photos check out the website of WRAL.