Final Fire profile: Chef John Bobby

During Fire in the Triad, Chef Bobby put out beautiful, composed plates with dishes such as Peppercorn Crusted Ostrich Filet, a Barley-Agrodolce Salad and Pork Sugo with Spinach Tajarin, but the real stars of each competition night were the desserts that his teammate and wife, Lucia, constructed. After speaking with him, it is apparent that his roots are as humble as they come.

I've always been around the restaurant business. My dad owned a restaurant in Kernersville called The Lazy Cajun, and I'd wash dishes, do whatever needed to be done.

I met my wife, Lucia, when we worked at Wal-Mart. One day she said, "I'm going to culinary school," and I said, "Let's go," and we stayed in Florida for 8 years. We both worked at the Ravenous Pig in Winter Park, Florida. I learned about local food, using local product and farm to table cuisine. It broadened my perspective.

Well, I'm from Kernersville and Lucia is from King and we wanted to live closer to home but not too close, so we chose Charlotte. I started at Rooster's at the South Park location. A position opened up and it was either sous chef in Charlotte or executive chef in Winston-Salem. I chose Winston.

Because I live in Charlotte and work in Winston, it's hard to meet other chefs. I thought it would be a good idea to meet others and make connections. We didn't make it very far last year, but this year, we were all over it. We planned a little bit more, decided to take a bit more risk. I hope we make it all the way to the end. We are looking forward to spending some time in Chapel Hill and Raleigh and eating at The Stanbury.

Final Fire is the culmination of six regional dining competitions. The format is the same: each chef prepares three dishes using one or more secret ingredients then diners and professional judges vote without knowing who made what. The winning chef moves to the final round.