The Chef's Academy, a new culinary school in Morrisville, will celebrate its grand opening next Thursday, Sept. 29, with a Triangle chefs' showdown. The event, which is open to the public, is from 5:30-9 p.m. at the Morrisville campus at 2001 Carrington Mill Blvd.

The local chefs cooking for the event include Scott Crawford of The Umstead Hotel and Spa and Michael Chuong of án Restaurant, both in Cary, Walter Royal of Angus Barn Khoury Solomon of Irregardless Café, both in Raleigh.

The event also will feature a silent auction to raise money for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Among the items up for auction are a cooking class for up to 12 people at the school and a set of Mercer knives.

The school is asking folks to RSVP. You can do that online and see more details about the event at bit.ly/pgKayA.

Kathleen Purvis has a story about how to grill the perfect steak for Father's Day, including advice from Chef Walter Royal of the Angus Barn. Remember: recipe links are to the right under Related Content.

And in case you missed Fred Thompson's Weekend Gourmet column on Sunday, he offers a recipe for a T-bone steak with black pepper butter.

Speaking of Father's Day, we have a story about breakfast treats for your dad.

My column today is about Linda Watson's first cookbook, "Wildly Affordable Organic."

Kathleen Purvis' column is about how she beats the summer heat.

Suzanne Havala Hobbs' On The Table column is about the danger sprouts pose.

Kathleen Purvis' Cook Q&A is about a when to eat fruit hoax. If you have a burning cooking question, send those to kpurvis@charlotteobserver.com

We share a Chicago Tribune story about the best flatbreads at the grocery store.

I have a story today profiling the second-in-command in well-known Triangle kitchens. Meet Jimmy Alfano and Jim Long of the Angus Barn, Amanda Forsyth of Magnolia Grill, Miguel Torres of Lantern and Sunny Gerhart of Watts Grocery.

Greg Cox gives 3 1/2 stars to The Pig in Chapel Hill. HERE is his review.

And Greg explores the Triangle ethnic food world with a new Cheap Eats column. His inaugural column explores Mongolian barbecues.

It seems the Angus Barn's chef Walter Royal is the go-to-guy when Food Network stars come to town.

Royal will do a cooking demonstration before Guy Fieri takes the stage at Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium on Nov. 21. Fieri is the star of "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives." He bills his roadshow as a rock-and-roll culinary show.

Royal lent his kitchen to chef Bobby Flay for preparation before his performance last year at the N.C. State Fair, and hosted some culinary students who came to hear Flay speak. 

Royal once appeared on Iron Chef and defeated Cat Cora in battle ostrich; thus, the Food Network's familiarity with him. 

Just as a reminder, I will be giving away two tickets to Guy Fieri's show. Contest details will be published in next Wednesday's food section although I might be tempted to release them earlier on the blog.