By KRISTA HARRIS
The Brunswick News
With quick hands, Joe Barnett shoveled out a mound of shrimp and grits to place in a dish.”This is going to be good,” he said with a broad smile and Southern accent.
His creation, “Well, Split My Grits,” was for the Second Annual Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival on Jekyll Island this weekend.
On Saturday, amateur cooks came out to try their luck at creating the most delicious shrimp and grits concoction.
Barnett, from Washington, Ga., was the winner of last year’s amateur competition. He got to cook his signature dish, General Oglethorpe’s Shrimp and Grits, on the Martha Stewart show earlier this year.
“I’m trying something totally different,” he said, taking a break from handing out the dish. “The recipe, Well, Split My Grits, got its name from the football-shaped space in the middle of the grits, which serves as reservoir for a special mixture of cheese and cream spinach.”
Barnett says he has several recipes and lets his family members decide which one to use in competition.
“This was my family’s favorite (this time),” he said, holding up a steaming plate of shrimp and grits covered in fettucine sauce, different seasonings and a secret ingredient.
It was his 15-month old grandniece’s, Cassidy Barnett, favorite and Barnett could not refuse her.
Barnett says this is a great festival for Jekyll Island, which he calls his second home.
“It’s a good thing,” Barnett said. “Give it a little time and it will be a big thing.”
Some people travel from out-of-town to taste the Southern dish.
“I’ve never heard of shrimp and grits,” said Cherrilyn Brooks.
Brooks, her husband Robert, and their two girls, Andrea, 12, and Victoria, 7, traveled from Jacksonville to get their first taste of shrimp and grits. It was also their first time on Jekyll Island.
“I’m excited,” Brooks said, looking around the historic millionaire’s village on Jekyll Island.
“It’s very beautiful.”
As they walked toward the variety of vendors and food booths, the McNeese family was taking a break from the sun underneath an ancient oak near Sans Souci by the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.
“We’ve eaten one of everything,” said Buddy McNeese. He and his wife, Mindy, enjoyed the shrimp and grits from Latitude 31, a local restaurant on the Jekyll Island marina, which had a booth set up.
Their 8-year-old son, Campbell, agreed, adding that it “was delicious.”
However, the food was not Campbell’s favorite part of the festival.
He enjoyed rock climbing but admits his younger sister went higher than he did.
“I did,” Hansley Cate, 6, said, grinning proudly.
Her friend, Olivia Ann Packard, 6, says she would rather climb the oak tree, or play with the bubbles from the Bubble Man, Robin Booth, of Stone Mountain.
Mandy McNeese says the family had a wonderful time but wishes the festival had more things for the children to do.
Music blared from the stage set up across from the club hotel. Booths filled with shrimp, grits, funnel cakes, corn dogs and every festival food imaginable lined the park.
On Sunday, the professional chefs set up shop to test their skills at cooking tasteful shrimp and grits dishes.
The whole weekend was filled with loads of Wild Georgia shrimp, grits, music, games and boat rides.
Tags: article, Brunswick News, festival, jekyll island, Shrimp & Grits Festival
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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”.
