I love a good cornbread. Hell, I make a great cornbread: prized on both sides of Dixie. So, I knew it'd be worth it to fly out from Baltimore -- which doesn't have much of a cornbread tradition at all -- and head out of BWI Airport to check out the first Arkansas Cornbread Fest. It was held at Little Rock's Bernice Garden, a cute little urban garden scene and home to several organic and environmentally concious businesses.
The fest had all kinds of live indie and traditional music, as well as local crafts and a cookbook containing recipes from the "residents" of a local cemetery.
For $5, which went to a local charity, I was able to sample all the cornbread I could handle and vote on the best. . . if I were the carry around a voting sheet type. The categories included sweet, traditional, non-traditional, professional, non-professional. I learned from chefs that many of them favor hot water cornbread on a personal cooking level, because it goes well with any food you'd pair it with.
The Capital Hotel was well-represented with chef Tandra Watkins creating a jalapeno-cracklin' cornbread and serving it with braised greens.
I wanted to sample some caramel cornbread with buttermilk ice-cream, but the contestants ran out right away!
Petit-Jean was sampling delicious pork-venison-jalapeno-cheese sausage.
The official results are here: Winners in the cornbread competition are:
- Best Overall Winner (best in show) – Terry Wright, who received $500, an apron, a blue ribbon and a gift basket.
- Best Professional Winner – El Dorado’s Old South Cornbread, who received an invitation to the Fourth Annual New Orleans Roadfood Festival, $100 and a gift basket.
- Best Amateur Winner – Terry Wright, who received $100 and a gift basket.
- Best Professional, Traditional – Old South Cornbread, who received $50 and a t-shirt.
- Best Professional, Non-Traditional – Loblolly Creamery, who received $50 and a t-shirt.
- Best Amateur, Traditional – Terry Wright, who received $50 and a t-shirt.
- Best Amateur, Non-Traditional – Johnny Reep, who received $50 and a t-shirt.
- Best Amateur, Sweet – Ramona Cash, who received $50 and a t-shirt.
