Since the inception of the Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits: Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival in 2006, Joe Barnett, Jr. has participated and won in every Shrimp & Grits Cooking Competition. His winning streak and jovial personality caught the attention of Food Network. On March 18 at 9:00 PM the amateur chef will go up against world-renowned chef Bobby Flay on Food Network’s “Throwdown with Bobby Flay”.

Taped in Joe Barnett’s hometown of Washington, GA, the show features Joe Barnett cooking his version of shrimp & grits against Bobby Flay’s version. Both chefs use locally caught wild Georgia shrimp provided by the Georgia Shrimp Association, a partner in the Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits annual festival. Their dishes are judged by local fans and shrimp & grits connoisseurs. The one-on-one competition was a complete surprise to Barnett. In each “Throwdown” episode, the amateur cook thinks Food Network is shooting their profile for a show. What they don’t know is that Food Network star Bobby Flay is going to drop in for a surprise visit and challenge them to an unexpected cook-off.

“I was shocked when Bobby Flay walked onto the set,” said Barnett. “Of course, I’m always up for a cook-off and was proud to represent the Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits Festival and the Georgia Shrimp Association.”

The annual Shrimp & Grits: Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival is held each year on Jekyll Island in September. This year’s event is scheduled for September 18-20 and will include cooking competitions, celebrity book signing, cooking demonstrations, shrimp boat tours and excursions and much more. More details can be found at jekyllisland.com and the festival Facebook fan page.

Tags: Georgia Shrimp Association, Jekyll Island Events, jekyll island revitalization, Jekyll Island vacations, Shrimp & Grits Festival, shrimp and grits festival, shrimp festival, The wild georgia shrimp festival
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Visit www.jekyllisland.com/shrimpandgrits and view the website for the 2009 Shrimp & Grits: The Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival.  We are excited to have the Georgia Shrimp Association as our title sponsor again this year. All applications for the cooking competitions and vendor exhibition areas are available. Schedules, maps, other details will be posted soon. Keep checking back. Also, become a friend of the festival by visiting our Facebook page. Search for Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits on Facebook.com. We will update the Facebook page daily with new information, links to recipes, and other great news about our favorite dish!

Tags: Georgia Shrimp Association, jekyll island beach, Jekyll Island boating excurssions, Jekyll Island Club Hotel, Jekyll Island Events, jekyll island festivals, Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits, Jekyll Island vacations, Shrimp & Grits
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The Georgia Shrimp Association and the Jekyll Island Authority are proud to bring you Shrimp & Grits: The Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival in celebration of the sweet, wild Georgia shrimp harvest!

Commercial shrimping defines the look and feel of the Georgia coast. Shrimp boats trawl the horizon or sweep near shore as sunbathing tourists watch with interest and children try to catch a glimpse of the captain at his wheel; at rest, the boats distinctive rigging proclaims the freshness of local seafood at picturesque docks and fishing villages. And it’s not just for show - shrimping is among the nation’s largest fisheries and Georgia shrimpers and shrimp are counted among the best in the nation.
The shrimping tradition in Georgia is old and proud, and it is the state’s most important and vibrant connection to the life of the sea. Making a living from the sea is one of the most ancient and esteemed pursuits of man.

The Georgia Shrimp Association seal signifies that the shrimp is local, gathered from coastal Georgia waters and packaged according to strict Georgia Shrimp Association guidelines. While Georgia shrimpers face competition from foreign imports who grow pond-raised shrimp, the size and taste of the seafood fails in comparison to the sweet, jumbo sized wild Georgia shrimp.

Jekyll Island and the Georgia Shrimp Association welcome you to celebrate Georgia’s shrimp and the hardworking shrimpers who trawl our waters. Friday, September 19, through Sunday, September 21, the beautiful Jekyll Island Club National Landmark Historic District will feature great professional and amateur shrimp and grits chefs, shrimp eating contests, a kids fun zone, and vendors galore. For more information, visit www.jekyllisland.com/shrimpandgrits or call the Jekyll Island Visitors Information Center at 1-877-4JEKYLL.

Tags: coastal festivals, cooking competitions, family fun, Georgia Shrimp Association, Jekyll Island Club National Landmark Historic District, jekyll island festivals, Shrimp & Grits: The Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival, shrimp and grits, shrimping
Posted in Beachscape, September 2008 | No Comments »

The recipes may be passed down or home grown. The chefs will range from back yard burner to culinary craftsman. What all of the cooks will have in common during Jekyll Island’s 3rd Annual Shrimp & Grits: The Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival September 19-21st will be two key ingredients: shrimp and grits. Amateur and professional chefs will spin their culinary creations for top honors and cash prizes in this 3rd annual cooking competition.

“The quality and creativity of the entries is always and interesting and delicious surprise,” said Beth Burnsed, Event Marketing Manager for Jekyll Island. “The variety of shrimp & grits recipes makes the competition harder and harder every year. These contestants mean business!”
On the amateur side, individuals or groups are able to participate. This year there will be amateur competitions, both on Saturday and there is an entry fee of $30 per group which provides entrants with shrimp, grits, and a festival T-shirt. Each chef will need to furnish all other ingredients, a propane cook-top and cooking utensils necessary to create their shrimp and grits specialties. The first place recipient will receive a $500 cash prize. The second place recipient will receive $300, and the third place contestant will garner $100.


The entry fee for professional chefs, those who have worked within the restaurant business for 2 years or more, is $100 and includes shrimp, grits, and a festival T-shirt. The first prize winner will take home bragging rights, $1,000 cash. Second place will receive $800, and the third place contestant receives $500.


The Amateur Cook-offs will be held on Saturday, Sept 20th beginning at 10 a.m and 3:30 PM. Professional chefs will compete on Sunday, Sept 21st beginning at 12:00 p.m. The competition will utilize staggered start and stop times to ensure each entry is freshly served to the panel of judges. Contestants will be judged on recipe/ingredients, taste, originality and presentation. Recipes can be centered on any meal day part and include an array of ingredients, but all must contain both shrimp and grits. Participation in both cook-off events is on a first-come, first-served basis with space restricted to ten entries per competition. Registration forms can be obtained online
www.jekyllisland.com/shrimpandgrits.


Providing the key ingredient, Wild Georgia Shrimp, will be the Georgia Shrimp Association, the events title sponsor.
Other activities taking place during the festival weekend include shrimp-eating contests, an arts and crafts show, kids play area, live music and lots of food. We will even have a the Lady Jane, a real shrimp boat, available for tours and a sunset cruise! For more information on the Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival visit www.jekyllisland.com/shrimpandgrits or call 1-877-4JEKYLL.

Tags: amateur cooking, chefs, cooking contests, Georgia Shrimp Association, jekyll island festivals, professional cooking, shrimp and grits festival, wild georgia shrimp
Posted in July 2008 | No Comments »

I hope all of you had a chance to enjoy Shrimp & Grits: The Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival this past weekend. If you did not, you missed out on some great food, great fun and, for me, a great team in action. I can’t say enough about our team, and about our event leader Beth Burnsed.

We also have a great partner is this event, the Georgia Shrimp Association. With GSA’s help, we were able to secure our celebrity chef Uncle Bubba. Bubba was a big hit, selling out autograph books in less that two hours.

And our other partners - Georgia Tourism, Coca-Cola, Michelob/Budweiser, Jim Dandy, Brunswick Toyota, AT&T, Golden Isles Nissan, Ameris Bank, Stratton Hall, Jekyll Island Club Hotel, Latitude 31/Rah Bar - made an event of this size possible.

We also appreciate the work of Monkey Love Media and GCI Group for getting the word out, we had some great event coverage.

Our visitation numbers put the crowd for the weekend event at 11,800. We’ll be getting a full report together soon - and begin work on next year’s festival!

Tags: Ameris Bank, AT&T, Brunswick Toyota, Coca-Cola, Georgia Shrimp Association, Georgia Tourism, Golden Isles Nissan, Jekyll Island Club Hotel, Jim Dandy, Latitude 31/Rah Bar, Michelob/Budweiser, Shrimp & Grits Festival, sponsors, Stratton Hall, Uncle Bubba, Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival
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