News

Never Blue chef wins N.C. cookoff

Jesse Roque holds her plaque for winning the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association cookoff.

By Bill Moss, Published: August 30, 2016

Creating a dish made of chef-foraged edible weeds and seven other farm products from North Carolina, Never Blue chef Jesse Roque won the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association Chef Showdown Monday night in Raleigh.

Roque competed in the Savory and Sweet category against 15 other top chefs from across the state.

Besides the dandelion she foraged from Graveyard Fields on the Blue Ridge Parkway and the lamb’s quarter (quelites) she picked on Warrior Mountain in Saluda, Roque also used peaches from Buttermilk Creek Farm in Burlington, whole grain mustard from Lusty Monk in Asheville, pork cheek from Heritage Farms Cheshire Pork in Seven Springs, okra from Grow Water Farms in Hendersonville, sweet corn and red peppers from Johnson Family Farms in Hendersonville, heavy cream from Milkco Inc. in Asheville and tortillas from the Purple Crow, La Tortilleria, in Winston-Salem.
Jesse Roque's prize winning Candied Peach and Whole Grain Mustard glazed Pork Cheek Tostada, was topped with Fried Okra Shavings, Pickled Queso Blanco and Sweet Corn Relish with Dandelion-Quelites Green Goddess Cream.Her winning dish, a Candied Peach and Whole Grain Mustard glazed Pork Cheek Tostada, was topped with Fried Okra Shavings, Pickled Queso Blanco and Sweet Corn Relish with Dandelion-Quelites Green Goddess Cream.
She competed against Luca Annunziata of Passion 8 (Charlotte), Matthew Krenz of the Asbury at the Dunhill Hotel (Charlotte), Richard Miller, Graze (Winston-Salem), Sam Stachon of Highland Avenue (Hickory), and Matt Tilman of Gallery Restaurant at the Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge (Charlotte).
The GotToBeNC cookoff requires chefs to use all North Carolina ingredients.
A classically-trained pastry chef, Roque and her husband opened Never Blue with her artist mother as a café/bakery and art gallery. Roque grew up underfoot in the various kitchens of her friends and family in Tampa, where she learned techniques and methods from people that had a genuine love and compassion for food. The Filipino, Greek and Cuban flavors she experienced in her youth permeate her recipes still today. Her first jobs in restaurants started at age 15, so becoming a chef was the logical next step to a career in the hospitality industry.
Her recipes have been featured in “Chefs of the Mountains: Restaurants and Recipes from Western North Carolina” and “Fine Dining: Tennessee Style.” She has been featured in Southern Living, WNC, Charleston Place, Parents and UpScale magazines.
Roque and her husband live on a small family farm, which produces eggs, vegetables and unique herbs for the restaurant. On her days off, she homeschools their two girls, Violet and Lily Jo, cans and preserves foodstuffs for the restaurant and enjoys all the beauty and adventures Western North Carolina has to offer.