WEST VIRGINIANS, UNITE!
It's time to carry one of our own chefs to victory - and you could win yourself a cool $10,000 in the process.
To celebrate its 135 years in business, Thomas English Muffins is sponsoring a "Hometown Breakfast Battle" where 135 chefs from across the country were invited to create their own tasty morning dish incorporating a Thomas muffin or bagel. Voters nationwide will chose the winner.
That's where you come in.
Only one West Virginia chef is in the competition - and it's our own talented Noah Miller, chef and owner of Noah's Eclectic Bistro in Charleston. Noah's contest creation features a delicious combination of braised greens, fried green tomatoes, country ham and corn on a whole-grain muffin.
"After making it and tasting it, I named my entry, 'Welcome to Appalachia English Muffin' because I thought it really did speak to our culture," he said. "Even the muffin is whole-grain to replicate a buckwheat or whole-grain Johnny cake. I'm really impressed how well it came together and how good it tastes."
But as good as it is, he still needs your help to win.
Noah's lone West Virginia entry is competing against 134 from other states now through Sunday. At that point, only the top 16 vote-getters will advance to the next round, with follow-up voting narrowing the field to eight, four and then just two leading up through Oct. 25.
You can vote daily, plus share Noah's entry through Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram to help him get even more votes. (And remember, every vote you cast gives you another entry in the contest's $10,000 prize for the public. Daily voters may also win a supply of Thomas muffins, too.)
The contest slogan is ... "135 years. 135 chefs. You decide who wins." But there's only one West Virginian.
Visit bit.ly/1UV8FgP to vote for Noah every day - and secure your chance to win a big bunch o' cash, too.
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I always read the tasty tidbits shared by Gazette-Mail "From the Kitchen" writer Judy Grigoraci, but her ode to fresh-baked biscuits a few weeks ago was one that really caught my eye.
A buttery, slightly crispy crust outside giving way to warm fluffy goodness inside? Yes, please!
I love me some biscuits, y'all. In fact, I'm traveling over to lovely Pocahontas County this weekend to judge the third annual West Virginia Biscuit Bake-Off, an event whose popularity has been on the rise since its inception.
The first year featured 16 mostly traditional entries, but the 21 biscuits entered last year exhibited so much variety and creativity (bacon and cheese! cinnamon and raisin!) that judging was split into traditional, sweet and savory categories.
And new this year, organizers have added a People's Choice Award as well, giving the public a chance to sample all entries and vote for their favorites.
Me and a group of six other lucky judges will taste (and taste and taste some more) home-baked biscuits to crown a winner in all three groups. Our first bites will be the biscuits alone, but then a table full of homemade local jams, preserves, honey and such will be on hand to assist in our follow-up bites.
I'm crossing my fingers that a piping hot pan of sausage gravy may magically appear as well.
"Biscuits are a very common staple on the dinner table in the Appalachian Mountains," says Cara Rose, Executive Director of the Pocahontas County Convention & Visitors Bureau, which coordinates the event. "We've had several people already call from several places in West Virginia so I anticipate a great turn out."
Want to enter your own beautiful biscuits? It's not too late. Contestants can register in advance or the morning of the event at the Pocahontas County Visitor's Center in Marlinton, where this year's judging will take place.
The contest is part of Marlinton's Autumn Harvest Festival, which also includes the infamous West Virginia Road-Kill Cook-Off, a wild event I also judged last year.
The West Virginia Biscuit Bake-Off is sponsored by Hudson Cream Flour, Elk River Inn and the Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau. For registration information and official rules, call 304-799-4636 or visit www.pccocwv.com.
Steven Keith writes a weekly food column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail. He can be reached at 304-380-6096 or by email at dailymailfoodguy@aol.com. You can also follow him on Facebook and Pinterest as "DailyMail FoodGuy," on Twitter as "DMFoodGuy" and read his blog at blogs.wvgazettemail.com/foodguy.