Louisiana Food Prize is proud to announce that their premiere private dining experience, the Society of the Golden Fork, is back for 2020. A new crop of local chefs will be battling it out to be crowned the Food Prize Champion during Prize Fest, September 30 – October 4. Throughout the dinner series, each week’s competing chef will be interviewed to give more background on their experience. This week, we’ll be speaking with culinary entrepreneur Chef Blake Jackson
Chef Jackson is the Owner and Executive Chef of Drake Catering, Prepared Nutrition, and Whisk Dessert Bar as well as the Event Director and Executive Chef at 421 Texas. He has made a name for himself in the past decade as one of the area’s premier event caterers and private chefs. In 2016, he was the winner of the Louisiana Food Prize Battle for the Golden Fork and, in the following years, was selected to the ACF New Orleans Best Up & Coming Chefs in Louisiana, among other accomplishments.
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LA FOOD PRIZE: Tell us who you are, and where we can find you.
CHEF JACKSON: I’m Blake Jackson, and I’m the Executive Chef and Owner of Drake Catering and Whisk Dessert Bar, and now the Event Director and Executive Chef at 421 Texas in downtown Shreveport.
LA FOOD PRIZE: What do you think is the most exciting part about getting to participate in the Golden Fork dinner series?
CHEF JACKSON: I think that anyone that cares enough about their craft is going to want to compete and prove they have what it takes to hang with some really incredibly talented people. I am excited to have the opportunity to get out there and show what I’ve got against the city’s best.
LA FOOD PRIZE: What is one feeling you hope people walk away with after experiencing your food?
CHEF JACKSON: When people have my food, I want them to feel like there’s a part of my sense of “home” in that. I want them to be transported to my kitchen table and have that feeling of welcomeness and to understand that my cuisine comes from years of development, from being a little kid cooking breakfast to where I am today.
LA FOOD PRIZE: What is one thing you wish more people knew about your culinary skills?
CHEF JACKSON: I’ve really got a knack for doing whole animal cookery – whole pigs, turkeys, chicken, tuna, salmon. I just really love the art of perfectly cooking a whole animal.
LA FOOD PRIZE: What food trend has you most curious at the moment?
CHEF JACKSON: I’m all about fermentation right now. It’s a big chunk of the umami world, and it’s really fascinating seeing how folks are using it.
LA FOOD PRIZE: What food trend would you like to see die?
CHEF JACKSON: This is not so much FOOD but let’s be real – an Aperol Spritz just isn’t that good.
LA FOOD PRIZE: If you could turn ANY location in Shreveport into a pop-up dinner venue what would it be and why?
CHEF JACKSON: So, my BIASED answer is 421 Texas. The unbiased part of me says inside Fairgrounds Field. But then again, I’m holding all my best answers to myself.
LA FOOD PRIZE: Why do you feel events like the Society of the Golden Fork are important for culinary professionals and the community?
CHEF JACKSON: Competition breeds greatness. As much as we have formed a tight-knit community as chefs and restaurateurs, cooking head-to-head pushes us all to reach outside the box and put out new and exciting dishes.
LA FOOD PRIZE: What can we expect from you in 2020?
CHEF JACKSON: I’m always good for one big surprise in a year. With the catering, the bakery, and now the venue, we have big plans to have a huge impact on Shreveport-Bossier!
LA FOOD PRIZE: Finally, what would you like to say to your competitors in the Golden Fork?
CHEF JACKSON: I think all the competitors in town – and I don’t think it’s hard to do – should just be uniquely themselves. We have to showcase what the city has to offer and we don’t do that by trying to compete directly against each other and cooking the same dishes. Go out and do what you do best, and I think that will make the competition the best for everyone.
ABOUT OUR DINNER SERIES
The Society of the Golden Fork brings 18 local chefs together for two private dinner sessions of 9 chefs each, filled with unique, off-the-menu experiences. Our program encourages participating chefs to flex their skills and test drive new culinary concepts before a limited audience of dialed in food lovers. However, it’s not just a private dinner club. Our chefs are in competition, further pushing them to develop thoughtful and exciting flavors that will make their meals memorable. Members of the Society of the Golden Fork judge each meal based on Taste, Presentation and Showmanship.
The four chefs from each session with the top scores move on to the semifinals, where they compete LIVE in front of a screaming audience to become our Battle for the Golden Fork contestants at Prize Fest in the fall. They’ll duke it out in the grand finale “Chopped-style” showdown for $5K, the title of Food Prize Champion, the Golden Fork trophy and bragging rights for the year.
Want to get in on the action of the Society of the Golden Fork series? Email Steven Knight at steven@prize.foundation for more info and to get on our waiting list for spots in the dinner series.
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