Twenty-five vendors will line
up on University Drive tomorrow,
serving hungry Cotton
District Arts Festival attendees.
The Taste of Starkville competition
was created by the
Starkville Area Arts Council over
seven years ago to show residents
what restaurants are available,
said Tasha Hill, the hospitality
and events coordinator of the
Greater Starkville Development
Partnership.
“[We] showcase some of their
specialty items and their popular
food, and of course our guest
vendors are going to bring an
added treat,” Hill said. “So [festival
goers] have some of the
visiting members bringing some
added flavor to the Taste of
Starkville,” Hill said.
This part of the Cotton
District Arts Festival keeps growing
each year, she said.
“Even with the economy, the
support has grown larger,” Hill
said.
Many vendors from North
Mississippi are getting involved
in Taste of Starkville this year
as well.
Twanda Tate, a representative
from Southern Elite Catering in
Columbus, said the food selection
satisfies during an economic
low.
“Everybody is conscious of
their spending, and this will
allow people to taste the food
without spending a lot. It is
quality food,” she said.
In the past, Tate said she has
visited Taste of Starkville and
enjoyed it. She also said this
is the first year Southern Elite
Catering will be a vendor in the
competition.
With Super Bulldog Weekend
and the Cotton District Arts
Festival occurring this weekend,
Hill said she has asked the vendors
to make sure they have
enough food. They are expecting
the crowds to be double, maybe
even triple the size of last year,
she said.
Restaurants such as Harvey’s
are trying their best to be fully
prepared to feed the additional
crowd.
Terry Long, general manager
of Harvey’s, said the restaurant
will prepare 700 chicken and
steak kabobs; only four years ago
they prepared and served 500
kabobs to the hungry crowd.
“I think we’ve been participating
since the beginning. We’ve
been doing steak kabobs forever
now,” Long said.
He said in previous years
Harvey’s thought of changing
the food they would offer,
but customers did not like the
idea of moving away from the
kabobs. So, luckily for kabob
lovers, Harvey’s will continue
the kabob tradition.
“I love it. Me and my chef
Carnell [McGee] have such a
blast getting ready for it,” Long
said. “It’s one of those things we
look forward to every year.”
Awards from the competition
will be given to some of the participating
vendors around noon.
Hill said the vendors will be
judged by six random people
from Starkville, and the awards
will range from best presentation
to fun categories, such as
the best ice cream on a hot day.
There will also be a server
race between The Veranda,
Bulldog Deli, Sweet Peppers
Deli, McAlister’s Deli, The Grill
and Harvey’s at 1 p.m. Servers
will hold trays filled with plastic
glasses and go through an
obstacle course.
“The winner of that will be
the one with the fastest time
that hasn’t spilled any liquid.
They will win a traveling trophy,
media attention and, of course,
bragging rights,” Hill said.
Last year, The Veranda won.
Harvey’s won three of the five
previous years.
“Since it’s been a restaurant
competition, we won three years
in a row. We lost last year, but
we’re planning on getting it back
this year,” Long said.
Other restaurants are first
time competitors that want a
chance to show their skills.
Joel VanDerWeele, general
manager of McAlister’s Deli,
said they are not entering the
contest only to win.
“I just want to put a team out
there and be competitive. I’d
love to win, but it’s just about
having fun,” he said.
McAlister’s Deli employees
do not carry drinks on trays
at the restaurant, but the four
employees they have competing
have full service backgrounds,
he said.
For more information
about Taste of Starkville, visit
starkvillearts.org.