12 chickens - 12 chefs!

So today we went to the Chicken and Champagne Feast fundraiser at Kendall College.

This summer, the chicken has flown the coop right into the fryer for a philanthropic cause. Kendall College Trust’s inaugural Fried Chicken & Champagne Fest will be held at Kendall College Skyline Room on Saturday, August 22 from 11:30 am-3:00 pm. All event proceeds benefit Kendall College Trust, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that raises scholarship funds for premier culinary and hospitality students with financial need at Kendall College.

Kendall College has gathered a roster of award-winning chefs to fry-up their take on this classic dish. Now that’s something to give a cluck about!

Participating Chefs:

Celeste: Rob Peterson

Duck Inn/Bottlefork: Kevin Hickey

Farmhouse: Eric Mansavage

Honey Butter Fried Chicken: Christine Cikowski and Josh Kulp

Leghorn: Jared Van Camp

Parachute: Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark

Parson’s Chicken and Fish: Hunter Moore 

Slurping Turtle: Takashi Yagihashi

Smalls: Joaquin Soler

Sumi Robata: Gene Kato 

Charlatan: Matt Troost

Yusho: Harold Jurado

Come cast your vote for your favorite! 

So while I am sorry to tell you I have no photos because I can't see all that well - still recovering from Monday's surgery...but I did taste all twelve chicken recipes and can give opinions on that - 

here are the contestants in the order we tasted them- 

then there was one place that didn't have any cards - Parson's then we continued on as follows

_

and here is my summary review- 

there were a number of honorable mentions- 

Slurping Turtle

Celeste

Farmhouse

then I would comment-

- that the Honey Butter fried chicken wasn't spiced to my taste but the combo with the honey butter was seriously worthy

- that the Yusho chicken prep was excellent but the sauce on the steamed bun was stone cold and that detracted from the overall enjoyment of the dish

but here is this judge's decision- the first runner up LEGHORN! terrific chicken and a stand up philosophy that wins and extra point with me...

But the WINNER was - hand's down - the fried chicken recipe from the cafeteria of the Atlanta Four Seasons (some serious competition down that way) for REAL DOWNHOME SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN  was the Reverend's recipe as executed by Chef Kevin Hickey of DUCK INN. 

A clear winner in my book- double dipped in buttermilk then fried to a crispy outside with a juicy inside-- the perfect combination - WON BIG BIG BIG- 

So if you want to do your own taste test I have included address and numbers above- and I can recommend the top five - the winner - the runner up and the three honorable mentions! and honestly having had Yusho's chicken i would add it to the list despite the sauce fail this afternoon... so head on out - summer time is drawing to a close- it is almost the final week of August! Go NOW!

we learn to play accordion...

more on that later in the post-

our day started out with dancing lessons (I of course have a tear in my left knee meniscus so was unable to join in- LOL- thank god for small favors- LOL) but everyone seemed to have a really good time and the teachers (Lou & Cal Courville) were very patient.

after dancing we went on a city tour of Lafayette - many murals on buildings and a number of lovely parks -

 

 

then on to Dwyers (which was one of the Plate Lunch places featured in the movie last night called "Raised on Rice and Gravy"

 

 

 

Phil had the chicken and I had the meatball stew- both were yum yum yummy!

then we went back to the hotel for a lecture on Louisiana history which was extremely interesting including a little known fact that West Florida was once an independent nation! who knew???? the woman (Diane Monteleone) who lectured was fabulous and knew her material- we could have had another hour with her no problem! but- we needed to move along to the accordion factory!

 

where we met Junior Martin and his daughter Pennye and his grandson Joel!

Pennye gave us a brief history of the accordion and some information about the various styles of instruments-

and Joel gave us similar information but about the standard Cajun accordion...

Penny added some more about the manufacturing process-

then they all gave us an in-house concert of some of the local music!

even Junior's dog joined in-

afterward we were free to explore the company quarters-

then we headed straight to DeanO's for pizza samplers which were fab! - I liked the Cajun Executioner and Phil loved the Jacques Boudreaux

tomorrow is our final day of the course (boo hoo! - we have been having such a good time and learning so much we really aren't ready quite yet...)