BILOXI, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources’ Seafood Marketing Program will hold the Fifth Annual Mississippi Seafood Cook-Off on Friday, May 30th. This state-wide cooking competition will take place from 4 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Slavonian Lodge in Biloxi.
The cooking competition, emceed by chef, writer and restaurateur Robert St. John of Hattiesburg, will showcase seven of Mississippi’s talented chefs who will be competing for title of “King” or “Queen” of Mississippi seafood. Each chef will present a unique signature dish featuring fresh, sustainable Mississippi Gulf seafood to a select group of prominent local judges.
The winning chef will represent Mississippi in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans on August 2. This national competition pits top chefs from around the country against one another, each tasked with the goal of creating the most delicious, creative dish using domestic seafood native to his or her state. Last year, Mississippi’s David Crews won the national contest.
These talented Mississippi chefs will be showcasing their favorite ways to prepare wild-caught Mississippi seafood at the May cook-off:
- Ty Thames/Restaurant Tyler – Starkville, MS
- Gary Hawkins/Sophia’s Restaurant – Jackson, MS
- Dru Jones/Bouré – Oxford, MS
- Jeremy Noffke/Purple Parrot Café – Hattiesburg, MS
- Eric Spencer/Island View Casino – Gulfport, MS
- Mike Roemhild/Table 100 – Jackson, MS
- Danie Rodriguez/Capones Italian Ristoranté – D’Iberville, MS
The judges will taste the chefs’ preparations, and event attendees will have the opportunity to sample seafood dishes prepared by students of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Culinary Arts Program. Wine pairings and tastings will be provided by Hattiesburg’s Jamie Farris, owner of Lincoln Road Package, and Ocean Springs’ Crooked Letter Brewery will be on hand to supply some coastal brews.
“The Annual Mississippi Seafood Cook-Off provides a great opportunity to showcase our fresh, premium Gulf seafood and some of our state’s top culinary talent,” said Jamie Miller, executive director of MDMR. “We are excited to see how some of Mississippi’s top chefs put their unique flavor into this competition.”
For more information about the cook-off, please visit www.MSSeafood.com. If you're interested in attending the cook-off, email your name and phone number to Brooke.Goff@dmr.ms.gov to be included in ticket drawings. MSMP has a limited number of tickets available for drawings; more will be offered through contests and promotions online at www.facebook.com/mississippiseafood and through various coastal partners.
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is dedicated to enhancing, protecting and conserving marine interests of the state by managing all marine life, public trust wetlands, adjacent uplands and waterfront areas to provide for the optimal commercial, recreational, educational and economic uses of the
Source: Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
