Here are few upcoming events that might intrigue you:

• Piedmont restaurant in Durham is hosting a Fullsteam beer dinner at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The four-course meal cost $45 per person. Then on March 15, Piedmont is hosting a four-course dinner featuring Matteo Correggia wines in Italy. The event costs $55. To see menus for both events, go to http://piedmontrestaurant.com/events/. Call 683-1213 for a reservation.
• Hope Valley Bottle Shop is teaming up with two Durham restaurants for upcoming wine dinners: Blu Seafood and Bar will be offering a four-course shellfish dinner at 7 p.m. March 14 for $45. Call 286-9777 for a reservation. Then Four Square Restaurant is hosting a South African wine dinner at 7 p.m. March 28. The cost is $85 per person. Call 401-9877 to reserve your seat.
• Elaine's on Franklin is hosting a special five-course Loire Valley wine Dinner at 6 p.m. March 18. These winemakers will be on hand to talk about their wines: Jo Landron of the Domaine de la Louvetrie, Laurent Bonneau of Domaine de la Croix Des Vainqueurs and Nicolas Grosbois of Domaine Grosbois. The cost is $75 and call 960-2770 for reservations. To see the menu, go to http://elainesonfranklin.com/menu/loire-dinner.
   

Seven local chefs will compete Feb. 25 for the title of shrimp and grits champion in the first ever Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chefs' Throwdown.

The event at The Carolina Inn is open to the public who will vote for the fan favorite. It costs $15 to attend the event, which is from 1-4 p.m.

The participating chefs include: Jeremy Blankenship of Tyler's Taproom; Trey Cleveland of Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery; Adam Cobb of Glasshalfull; Bret Jennings of Elaine's on Franklin; Vimala Rajendran of Vimala's Curryblossom Café; Jimmy Reale of Carolina Crossroads Restaurant and Bar; and Adam Rose of Il Palio at the Siena Hotel.

For more information and tickets, go to www.CarolinaInnThrowdown.com.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit TABLE, a nonprofit aimed at helping children at risk of hunger.

I'm back after the three-day holiday weekend and I've got a bunch of events to mention:

• Elaine's on Franklin in Chapel Hill is offering a special Peregrine Farm dinner menu Wednesday, Sept. 8 from 5:30-9:30 p.m. The cost is $45 for five pepper-inspired courses including chili relleno with local goat cheese, black beans, cotija, cilantro and salsa verde and for dessert, lemon-verbena and jalapeno sorbet. For reservations, call 960-2770.
• Sherri Brooks Vinton, author of "Put 'Em Up!," will be at Flyleaf Books in Chapel HIll tonight at 7 p.m. and teaching a class at A Southern Season at 6 p.m. Wednesday. If you wanted to learn more about canning and preserving, this is your opportunity. If you want to sign up for the class, call 929-7133. The class costs $35.
• Herons at the Umstead Hotel in Cary reopens today after an extensive kitchen renovation. They will start serving lunch and breakfast today, and dinner Thursday.
• Dos Perros hosts the occasional movie night in its private room. At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8, they are showing "Like Water for Chocolate," and chef Charlie Deal will be serving up five courses.The meal costs $30. Call 956-2750 for a reservation.
• If you don't want to watch the movie, Dos Perros is hosting a five-course beer dinner at 7 p.m. Wednesday featuring brews from Stone Brewery. It costs $45. Call 956-2750 for a reservation.
• The Old Granary at Fearrington is hosting a three course beer dinner at 7 p.m. Thursday featuring beers from Carolina Brewing. The cost is $45. Call 542-2121 for a reservation.

Elaine's on Franklin is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this fall with a series of special wine dinners and events. Here is the list they sent: 

• Nov. 1, Anniversary Celebration Dinner hosted by Danny Haas from Vineyard Brands Importation Co. There will be incredible selections from Haas' cellar from Burgundy to Chateauneuf-du-Pape. THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT.

• Nov. 7: Guest Sommelier Craig Heffley, co-owner of Wine Authorities in Durham, will be on hand to share information on wine pairings. Elaine’s will be offering reserve cellar selections at discount prices with several by the glass.

The Umstead Hotel & Spa is hosting an intersting cooking clinic on Nov. 13: "The Lost Art of Lost Cuts." 

Chefs Scott Crawford of the Umstead's restaurant, Herons, and Bret Jennings of Elaine's on Franklin will be teaching consumers how to use underutilized cuts of several rare breed rabbits and Hog Island sheep.

The event is sponsored by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. 

The 9 a.m. clinic is followed by a three-course lunch at Herons. The cost is $125 per person. To register, call 542-5704.

Chef Bret Jennings of Elaine's on Franklin will be at 3Cups for a Sunday Supper event at 6 p.m. Sept. 13. Tickets cost $30 in advance and $35 at the door. 

The menu includes:

• Waldorf salad w/ local fuji apples served with
  2007 Goisot Bourgogne Blanc
• Curried Castlemaine Farm chicken salad
  with 2008 Clos Roche Blanche Pinot d'Aunis Rose
• Fresh Brinkley Farms field peas w/ corn and tomatoes with 2007 Catherine & Pierre Breton Nuits d'Ivresse Bourgueil
• And for dessert, saltine toffee

To reserve a spot, go to this link. 

There are several interesting events coming up at the Carrboro Farmers' Market:

This Saturday, a seed saving workshop will occur in the gazebo. You can learn when to harvest, what tools to use, what seeds to save and go home with free packets of seeds.

Phil McLaughlin will be the new chef at Durham's Six Plates Wine Bar. McLaughlin comes from Herons, the restaurant at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary. He worked closely with Bret Jennings as a sous chef at Elaine's on Franklin for six years. He  did previous stints in the kitchens at Il Palio and Squid's.

Ted Domville, the prior chef at Six Plates, is moving over to Local Yogurt in which he has an ownership stake.

Six Plates owner Matthew Beason says McLaughlin officially starts after Labor Day but the menu will likely not transition to his own creation until mid- to late September.  

Elaine's on Franklin is hosting winemaker Jean-Luc Colombo of the Jean-Luc Colombo Winery of the Rhone Valley in France next Thursday evening.