By Nathan Allen
posted
Feb 27, 2013
The 20th annual "Taste of Tennessee" wrapped up another
successful weekend with a blowout party Sunday Night at Outback
Pizza. The raucous affair rounded out four days of Jack Daniels
promotions and events up and down Killington Road and around the
region. A large crowd of local chefs, bartenders and visitors alike
waited to hear the results of the food and drink recipe contests,
the culmination of the week.
It was the Santa Fe Steakhouse who walked away with the top
honors in both categories this year. Matt Hortin was the envy of
all other local bartenders as he was recognized for his unique
drink creation. Hortin created a hot chocolate with an infusion of
jalapenos in Jack Daniels, that subtly introduced the taste of the
peppers without an overwhelming spiciness. Hortin's counterpart in
the kitchen, Deb Pelky beat out other local chefs with her Jack
Daniel's lacquered duck. Jarrett Bennett from the Wobbly Barn took
second place for his food.
Both recipe contests are fiercely competitive and almost every
restaurant and bar in Killington gets involved. The Mountain Times
spoke to Lynne Tolley, who is the great grandniece of Jack Daniels
himself. She is a chef in her own right and has published a
cookbook. She is an official taster at the Tennessee distillery as
well.
Tolley explained that the event started, simply enough, as a
dining event. "In Killington, it is so unique that so many
restaurants are close together around the mountain. We were able to
do this dine-around contest and taste an entrée that used Jack
Daniels. The contest worked in Killington where it wouldn't work
in, say, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, because the restaurants are miles
apart. We are able to go to ten different restaurants a night for
three nights. These chefs in Killington are fantastic. They are all
so creative. Every year I think 'oh, it's going to be a repeat of
last year' and they blow me away. They come up with some
unbelievably different entrees."
After a few successful dining out campaigns, the weekend evolved
into what it is today. "That's how it got started, it exploded from
there. We started having Jack Daniels contests, promotions and
games at different bars and clubs too. It's a great week to come to
Killington. Some people make it a point to come every year."
One of the newer contest that has become very popular, is the
statue competition. Contestants are given a three foot Jack Daniels
statue that they are instructed to paint, decorate and otherwise
embellish using a certain theme for inspiration. "This year, the
theme is 'rock and roll' and I can anticipate so many fabulous
'rock and roll' Jack Daniels statues for this contest. The bars
will display the statues so their customers can see them," Tolley
said, then they will be judged.
The Jack Daniels organization really values their partnership
with Killington "It's the friendliness of the people that we have
to deal with. You can do a lot of promotions in different places
and the people in Killington are so nice and so much fun. They are
so enthusiastic every year," Tolley said.
