If you go
› What: Chattanooga Market’s Scenic City Wings› Where: First Tennessee Pavilion, 1829 Carter St.› When: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24› Admission: Free; wings $10 for two samples from each competitor› For more information: 423-648-2496
The folks from 1885 Grille/Alchemy Spice and from Feed Co. Table and Tavern will be back on Sunday, Sept. 24, to defend their bragging rights as Scenic City Wing champs when Chattanooga Market hosts its annual chicken wings cook-off.
Competition may get a little messy or too heated, but it promises to be fun for the whole family.
In addition to 1885 Grille/Alchemy Spice and Feed Co., competitors showing off their wing recipes will include CJ's BBQ, Diamond Billiards, Owl's Nest/Wild Thing Wing Team and Basecamp. The event is presented by Springer Mountain Farms, which has donated wings to ensure participants enjoy the freshest farm-raised chicken.
The fun for marketgoers is that they can sample wings and vote for their favorites. A $10 donation allows folks two wings from each of the six competitors. Proceeds from this event will benefit the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.
Feed Co. Chef Charlie Loomis was the champion of the Southern Wings Showdown last month, a Springer Mountain Farm event in Atlanta that drew chefs from across the Southeast. Loomis has created a recipe using Hoff and Pepper Sauce - a Chattanooga Market vendor - that has become a regional favorite.
The wings from 1885 Grille are seasoned with fresh, blended spices from Alchemy Spice, another Market vendor. These winning wings are featured daily at the 1885 Grille location in St. Elmo.
Team members Ben Gordon of Alchemy Spice and Michael "Chops" Fulgham of 1885 say they are looking forward to returning to the cook-off .
"Our award-winning process starts with a marinade of Proud to be American spice blend before being lightly battered, deep-fried and tossed in our special Carolina Gold Sauce. We're confident we will win again, because we start with the best seasonings," says Fulgham.
Chattanooga Market update: Chef Rebecca Barron of St. John's Restaurant won last Sunday's Cast Iron Cook-off at Chattanooga Market. Her winning dish was red snapper "shrimp-and grits-style" over polenta. It was her second consecutive win in the Cast Iron Cook-off.