Jackson's Manship Wood Fired Kitchen chef/owner Alex Eaton won the crown of Mississippi Seafood King in Thursday night's Mississippi Seafood Cook-Off, in his first (and only, he said) time in the competition.
Eaton's snapper collar with shrimp, gulf crab, roasted fennel, pickled ramps and lemon garlic broth earned him a medal and trophy as well as the crown. He'll go on to represent Mississippi in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans in August. He'll also participate in the World Food Championship (known as "The Ultimate Food Fight") in Orange Beach, Alabama, in November.
Jackson's Saltine owner/chef Jesse Houston netted the second place spot with crab custard. And David Dickensauge, Corks & Cleaver in Gulfport, was third with cornmeal-crusted soft shell crab.
"It was kind of shocking," Eaton said of his win. After a hectic couple of weeks with the Florida Georgia Line concert in Madison, graduation celebrations and a baby on the way, he'd nearly ducked out of the competition. But with the Memorial Day holiday looming, 'I knew we'd be closed Monday. I thought, I can do this one last thing."
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