Chattanooga Times Free Press - ChattanoogaNow
BIG WEEKEND AHEAD FOR FOODIES
Flavored Nation: 50 state dishes in one location
Foodies, you can eat your way across the nation and never leave town when the first Flavored Nation comes to Chattanooga this weekend.
Fifty chefs, one from each state, are flying to Chattanooga to prepare and serve iconic dishes that represent their state at this food expo on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 19-20. Each will be set up in a state booth where visitors can use their food tickets to choose any or all of the delicious fare being served.
From Alabama (bayou fritters with white sauce) and Alaska (reindeer sausage) to Wisconsin (cheese curds) and Wyoming (buffalo chili), every state will be represented in the exhibit hall.
Local confections MoonPies will be served in Tennessee’s booth with sorghum-roasted bananas and Chattanooga Whiskey vanilla bean pudding. Georgia will be represented by chicken and waffles with peach compote. Other Southern treats to be found at Flavored Nation will include Cuban sandwiches in Florida’s booth, Louisiana chicken and andouille gumbo, Mississippi Mud Pie and South Carolina’s specialty, shrimp and grits.
Fans of Food Network may recognize some of the visiting chefs. Mississippi’s Nick Wallace, Christine Hazel of New Jersey and Florida’s Robyn Almodovar are all “Chopped” champions.
Chef Jean Anne Bailey of Huntington, Indiana, says she is looking forward to this Flavored Nation because she has family here. Her husband, Kenny Bailey, grew up in Ooltewah. Their sons live in Soddy-Daisy and Cleveland, Tennessee.
In fact, she adds, her granddaughters
“The restaurant has been there since 1908. I’ve had it since 1989, and my parents owned it for 20 years before that.”
CHEF JEAN ANNE BAILEY
will be assisting in her booth, where fried pork tenderloin sandwiches will represent Indiana.
Chef Bailey says she grew up working in her family’s landmark restaurant, Nick’s Kitchen, from the time she was 7. Nick’s Kitchen was featured on the Travel Channel’s “Food Paradise.”
“The restaurant has been there since 1908. I’ve had it since 1989, and my parents owned it for 20 years before that,” she explains.
Each admission ticket comes with 10 food sample tickets and six drink sample tickets. Children’s tickets come with five food samples. Extra sample tickets may be purchased at $25 for 10. Visitors may use their tickets on any dishes they wish.
In addition to the state booths, the exhibit hall will be set up with a beer garden, wine cellar and whiskey lounge, vendor section, music by the Stratoblasters and all the weekend’s pro and college football games on TVs.
Fifty states plus 50 dishes equals one exciting new food expo.