Down at the Riverwalk Mall food court, there’s a stand called Mr. Shrimp’s Kitchen. It’s known for (you guessed it) shrimp. Meanwhile, the Metairie restaurant Ba Chi Canteen, has the Vietnamese word for pork belly in its name, and all over its menu.
But this week it’s fried chicken that occupies the creative energy, competitive vigor and logistical planning at both restaurants.
They are two among dozens of food vendors for this year's National Fried Chicken festival, which returns to the New Orleans lakefront Saturday and Sunday. They’re are all out to feed the crowds and vie for coveted best-of-fest awards, serious bragging rights in a chicken-loving region.
The fall calendar in Louisiana is filled with food festivals and competitions. But the line up of vendors at this one points to how the National Fried Chicken Festival is different.
It’s diverse by design, the result of an organization determined to give smaller players a way up.
Cleveland Spears, founder of the festival, calls it foundational to the event’s mission.
Many of the vendors are well known for fried chicken – names like Redbird, Bonafried, Chubbie’s, Gus’s, Chicken’s Kitchen, Picnic Provisions & Whiskey. Others are leaning into fried chicken just for the fest.
Significantly, the list is peppered with lesser-known mom and pops, caterers and food trucks, the type you don’t always see at big festivals like this.
The learning curve can be steep for new vendors, so the festival puts more resources into preparation and support. Creating opportunities for all the vendors to do well at the festival is another goal, giving a platform for businesses across the community to reach a bigger piece of that community.
And people do turn out for Fried Chicken Fest. Credit that the broad appeal of fried chicken, one that cuts across the foodways around the country and around the globe, from Korea to the Caribbean, and from Mr. Shrimp Kitchen to the Vietnamese kitchen at Ba Chi Canteen. All of that plays out again at this year’s festival.
Behind it all, there are small food vendors out there ready to spread their wings.
For wwno I’m Ian McNulty.
