On June 23, the tables of Fat Calf Brasserie were dressed for a five-course meal, every seat was occupied, and people chattered with hungry anticipation. Chef Zachary Schmidt and the staff at Fat Calf began handing out the first plate of the night–a smoked oyster artichoke bisque with a potato beignet–to the members of the Society of the Golden Fork.
This was the third dinner of Prize Fest’s Food Prize Summer Session.
“I came to compete at the table, and so, I look forward to see what happens from here.”
Chef Schmidt is from the New Orleans area, and he says he’s been in food service for many years, but his cooking passion really took off in 2011 when he came to Fat Calf Brasserie. Now, the staff of Fat Calf say that Chef Schmidt is a crucial part of their kitchen.
“But this is definitely home now,” he says.
This is Chef Schmidt’s first year participating in the Food Prize sessions, which actually requires a lot of work. Not only do the chefs have to plan an entire menu for their dinner, but they also have to spend hours cooking.
“When you’re done with that, this whole part is the challenging part,” Chef Schmidt explains. “The logistics: Who's going to be where? How are these plates going to go? But it’ll open up doors for me… to be able to advance and keep pushing.”
Advancing in Food Prize means being voted for by the Society of the Golden Fork and going to the Food Prize Finals with another chef from the summer session and two chefs from the spring session. Many of the Society members attend each dinner, like Linda Tonnies.
Tonnies discovered the Society at Food Prize’s “Come and Get It!” event in 2017. Since then, she has been to every dinner of both sessions each year.
Before each course, Chef Schmidt gave a brief explanation of the plate. Tonnies says that a lot of the chefs provide background information for their dishes, which is one of her favorite parts of participating.
“And that makes it personal and exciting, and it introduces us to things that we normally wouldn’t eat,” Tonnies says.
Part of Chef Schmidt’s story of culinary success was his path to sobriety. Almost four years sober, Chef Schmidt says cooking has been important to him, and having his own dinner with support from the community was a real testament to his accomplishments.
According to Gregory Kallenberg, Founder and Executive Director of Prize Foundation, that’s exactly what the Society of the Golden Fork is meant to do.
“And it’s a beautiful thing to watch Chef Zach do such incredible work and to be so celebrated,” Kallenburg notes.
That celebration looks like a restaurant full of Golden Fork Society members reminiscing on Chef Schmidt’s work or even previous summer session dinners. This includes members Herman “Pip” Pipkin and his wife Alishea Pipkin. The Pipkins are familiar with the Shreveport food crowd, and they say Food Prize is another opportunity for people to enjoy great food and socialize.
“Besides the food, you actually get to meet people and see what they do for a living,” Pipkin says, gesturing to his new acquaintances at the table. “It’s just something nice to do, you know, away from work.”
Members of the Society range from well-rounded foodies like the Pipkins to Christy Petty, who goes to the Society dinners with her girlfriends on nights out. Petty says she thinks the Society provides more unique food opportunities for locals.
“It’s an art that you’re bringing to the community,” Petty says.
There’s only two dinners left for the summer session, a Bridgerton-themed dinner with Chef Cindy Johnson and a dinner with Chef Dylan Teekell at The Library on Fern.
With Red River Radio News, this is Alaina Atnip.
“Viva La Food Prize!”
