By Susan Larson
FOODE co-owners Joy Crump and Beth Black were in Richmond March 23, presenting their Chicken & Waffles to a three-judge panel, including First Lady of the Commonwealth Dorothy McAuliffe. Their dish was chosen as one of the final four selections in the Virginia Tourism Board’s Culinary Madness Challenge.
Fans and supporters can vote online through 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, 2015, for the dish to move forward into the semi-finals.
Crump, also executive chef of the Fredericksburg restaurant, designed the signature brunch item using influences from the South and utilizing purveyors from the state. The dish consists of a buttermilk fried chicken breast served over a golden house-made waffle topped with whipped maple butter and warm Virginia maple syrup.
The three other semifinalists are:
Chef Travis Milton of Comfort in Richmond with Five Fat Fried Chicken.
Chef Eugene Hudders of The Horseshoe Restaurant in South Hill with Apple, Brie and Bacon Burger.
Chef Walter Wilkes of The White Dog Bistro in Mathews with Island Clams “Espagnole.”
Similar to the NCAA basketball tournament bracket, the competition started with 100 dishes narrowed to 32 by a committee from the Virginia Tourism Department. Dishes were challenged against each other on the website, and online voters chose their favorite. The votes were tallied, and the winners were chosen to move forward to the round of 16, the round of eight and the round of four.
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