John Moore (Contributed photo)
Food sculptors Marie Pelton and Jim Victor used butter to sculpt the face of Chattanooga local John Moore, one of Organic Valley's five "butter heroes." (Contributed photo)
Food sculptors Marie Pelton and Jim Victor used butter to sculpt the face of Chattanooga local John Moore, one of Organic Valley's five "butter heroes." (Contributed photo)John Moore has always been a huge fan of butter, but that isn't why his co-workers are now calling him "the butter guy."
In late November, the 27-year-old Chattanooga local was one of the five winners of a national contest hosted by agricultural cooperative Organic Valley. His prize? Having a sculpture of his face carved entirely out of butter.
The contest was part of a promotional campaign created by Chattanooga-based brand-invention agency Humanaut to let consumers know the "war on butter" is over. The war started in the 1950s when scientists began blaming butter and fats for everything from obesity to heart disease, but a study published in scientific journal PLOS ONE this June vindicated dairy fats of these charges, showing that butter consumption is not harmful in moderation.
Organic Valley chose to celebrate the victory by asking Americans to nominate and vote for "butter heroes," people who have always supported butter through cooking or eating habits.
According to those votes, there is no bigger butter supporter in Chattanooga than Moore, a longtime lover of rubbing cast-iron skillets down with ghee butter, a type of clarified butter used in South Asian dishes and medicines.
"I literally apply butter to all my baked goods and roasted veggies," Moore said.
Moore's boss nominated him for the prize earlier this year, and it wasn't long before his co-workers at Toyota Logistics caught on. They spread the word throughout the office and advocated for him on Facebook and Twitter.
Soon, Moore had acquired more than 1,000 votes on the campaign's website - enough for him to beat out hundreds of other nominees, including TV personality Andrew Zimmern, host of "Bizarre Foods."
Moore sent photos of his face from different angles to campaign managers, then watched live with others across the nation as food sculptors Marie Pelton and Jim Victor carved away at a block of Organic Valley butter to form a bust in his image.
"I think they did a pretty good job," said Moore. "They made me look skinny, which I thought was pretty nice of them."
Though the sculpture is still with its creators - or, as Moore suspects, in a "butter hall of fame somewhere" - the memory of his prize will live on. At least among his co-workers.
"I always thought that I'd be known for something, but it definitely wasn't being the butter guy," Moore laughed.
Email Myron Madden at mmadden@timesfreepress.com