 Fried Chicken Throwdown @ Beaver’s
& Houston Chowhounds Battle Mac & Cheese Potluck
FULL WRITE-UP of the event & winners posted here.
Houston Press write-up here.
Monday June 8, 2009, 5 - 9 PM
Beaver’s Restaurant 2310 Decatur St, Houston 77007
Event Schedule 4 PM Doors open: Contestants arrive & Bar opens 5 PM FCTD commences 6-7 PM Mac & Cheese Judging 7-8 PM Fried Chicken Judging
9 PM Event ends
Event Information
Be a part of the comfort food event of the year! Local star chefs and hospitality professionals will be competing against each other to win the title of Fried Chicken Throwdown Champion. Whose chicken will reign supreme? Entries will be judged by a panel of Houston Chowhounds (or Houchies), a local eating group comprised of foodies, bloggers, amateur chefs and industry experts with a knack for finding the best eats in H-town.
Meet the contestants. The following is a list of Contestants that have accepted the Throwdown before the contest rules were released. This list is subject to change based on agreement with competition guidelines. It will be updated to reflect contestants that join, confirm, or withdraw from the competition. Names in orange are confirmed entries.
The objective of this event is:
We are anticipating 75-100 attendees at this event. 50 tickets were released to Houchies and all of them sold out within several hours. All throwdown competitors, their guests, judges, and event volunteers will be attending the event free of charge and will make up the remainder of the event attendees.
Tickets were sold for $15 each. All proceeds from ticket sales will be used to offset expenses related to the actual event. Any leftover monies will be donated to Recipe for Success. In addition, recipes will be requested from Throwdown Contestants and will be sold at the event. All proceeds from the book of recipes will be donated to Recipe for Success.
Meet our Judges. The judging panel will be made up of six Houston Chowhounds:
1. Jenny Wang – Headhound, 002 Magazine food writer, I'm Never Full food blogger 2. Bryan Caswell – Chef/Owner of REEF & Little Bigs 3. Jim Gossen – Owner of Louisiana Foods, Restauranteur, Fried Chicken Expert 4. Jay Francis – Houston Press Food Explorer and Beloved Foodie 5. Katharine Shilcutt – Houston Press food writer, She Eats food blogger
6. Wild card
The wild card judge will be chosen by whoever submits the best response to the question, “Why should I be a FCTD judge?” Anyone may enter by sending their answer in 100 words or less to imneverfull@gmail.com by Mon, 6/1 at 5 pm. In addition, after Mac and Cheese Judging is completed, leftovers will be put out buffet-style for the patrons. Several Houchies will also be bringing large side dishes and desserts to be enjoyed by everyone at the event. If you would like to bring a side dish or dessert, please email imneverfull@gmail.com.
No one leaves thirsty. The bar at Beaver’s will be operating with a limited cocktail menu including the smoky Fumochelada that first premiered at the Michelada Throwdown at Anvil Bar & Refuge a few weeks earlier. Drinks will be offered at happy hour prices all night long. Ryan Rouse, resident cocktail nerd, and other volunteer Beaver’s staff will be slinging drinks on their day off work, so please tip them well.
Guidelines for Fried Chicken Contestants
Each entry will be judged in one of two categories:
Rules of engagement. Each entry in the Classic category must be (1) chicken, (2) bone-in, (3) skin-on. By “Classic,” we are referring to classic, Southern-American fried chicken. Each entry in the Creative category must contain: (1) poultry of some design, (2) fried component, (3) an attachment to fried chicken (i.e. must be reminiscent of fried chicken somehow).
Entries for judging. Contestants are required to prepare six individual plates or portions for each member of the judging panel. Contestants preparing “classic” fried chicken must submit 2 pieces of chicken to each judge. We recommend serving one piece of white meat and one piece of dark meat.
Food for patrons. In addition, contestants will be expected to provide at least 50 pieces of their “fried chicken” for the patron buffet. If your budget allows for it, we invite you to bring more or include a side dish. This food must be prepared off-site and brought to the event in serving dishes ready for consumption.
Kitchen priviledges. All Fried Chicken contestants will have access to Beavers’ fryers, stove top and ovens, however all ingredients needed must be brought to the event. Prep and cooking space is limited. Although contestants may arrive at the event with the final product, we recommend that any chicken dishes entered into competition are cooked/fried onsite. Please email jonathan@beavershouston.com with any other questions regarding kitchen or cooking logistics.
Expenses. Each Fried Chicken contestant will be given a $50 stipend toward food expenses. Contestants will receive this stipend in cash on the day of the event. Each contestant will also receive two free tickets to the event for family or friends. Please email imneverfull@gmail.com with the full names of your guests so they may be added to the guest list at the door.
Fried Chicken Judging: The judging panel will be made up of the six Houston Chowhounds previously mentioned. Fried Chicken judging will begin at 7pm and end at 8pm. All entries must be ready when judging commences. Each contestant will have the opportunity to describe his/her entry to the panel of judges.
Judging criteria: Classic Fried Chicken will be judged on the following:
Creative Fried Chicken will be judged on the following:
To register as a Fried Chicken contestant, please email the following information to Jenny Wang at imneverfull@gmail.com:
Guidelines for Mac & Cheese contestants:
Mac & Cheese contestants will be comprised of Houston Chowhound amateur chefs. Contestants must prepare their items off-site and may use the Beaver’s kitchen for heating purposes only. Entries must be ready at the time of judging which will be as early as 6pm.
Rules of engagement. All entries must contain some type of cheese and some form of pasta. Mac and Cheese entries should be presented in a standard rectangular 3 quart casserole dish. Larger dishes or other types of bakeware are allowed but the volume of the entry should meet a minimum of 3 quarts.
Expenses. Each contestant will receive a free ticket to the event and should not expect any other compensation for expenses.
Mac & Cheese Judging. The judging panel will be comprised of all Fried Chicken Throwdown contestants. Judging of Mac & Cheese will begin at 6pm and end at 7pm. Each contestant will have the opportunity to describe his/her entry to the panel of judges.
Judging Criteria: All entries will be scored by the panel of judges on the following criteria:
To register as a Mac and Cheese contestant, please email the following information to Jenny Wang at imneverfull@gmail.com:
To all contestants:
A book of Contestants’ recipes will be compiled, printed, and sold at the event with proceeds benefiting Recipe for Success. Please make every effort to email your recipe to Jenny Wang by Saturday, June 6th.
Remember this contest is for fun, bragging rights and moreover to bring the food community together. Excellent food for excellent people.
 To keep up with event news and discussions, follow the planners on Twitter.
Follow Jenny Wang @imneverfull and Jonathan Jones @PapaBeav
  Special thanks to Jonathan Jones & Beaver’s staff for hosting this event!
For more information about Beaver’s:
For more information about the Houston Chowhounds or to become a member:
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