JMM Insights: The Great Chicken Soup Cook Off
As you read this, The JMM is preparing for our first Great Chicken Soup Cook Off. We are in search of Maryland’s best chicken soup. We’ve invited aspiring chefs–from newbies to bubbies–to show us their culinary skills in a bid to receive the coveted title of Maryland’s Chicken Soup Champion.
The cook off tasting will take place at the JMM on Sunday, October 9th from 1 to 3pm. It is inspired by our current exhibit Beyond Chicken Soup: Jews and Medicine in America, and a certain televised baking contest. We have held various food related programs over the years at the JMM (including the ever- popular Gefiltefest, a gefilte fish cook-off), and we’re aiming to continue this successful tradition.
The Soups
The competition has been divided into three categories: Traditional, Alternative and Free From. Unsurprisingly the traditional category filled up quickly with eager participants. We are looking forward to trying a variety of traditional chicken soups including Grandma Esther’s Golden Delicious Soup and Beverly’s Bewitching Soup.
Entries in the Alternative category also sound really tasty. They include a Chicken Soup Maryland Style (don’t worry this doesn’t include any crabmeat) and a Lemongrass Chicken Soup. In the Free From category we are looking forward to trying a No Chicken “Chicken Soup”.
For those of you who think you’ve got what it takes to win the coveted prize, there are still spaces available in the Free From and Alternative categories, so enter here TODAY!
The Awards
Participants are eligible for a variety of awards beyond the overall Chicken Soup Champion. Prizes will be awarded for the best soup in each category, plus an under 16 award, director’s choice and the all-important people’s choice award.
The Tasting Judges
Our team of tasting judges all work in the Baltimore metropolitan area. We will be joined by Tom Lovejoy, executive chef at Eddie’s of Roland Park, Mark Davis from Michael’s Café and Sam Gallant of WTMD. However we need your help! For the people’s choice we need you to taste test all of the yummy soups, then vote for your favorite. This is a great opportunity to help choose the Chicken Soup Champion, and you get to taste lots of delicious soups.
Everything Else
The soups will be the stars of the day but there is plenty more to do while you are at JMM after you have cast your vote. In addition to visiting our exhibits and historic synagogues, we have lots of chicken soup inspired activities. This includes chef demonstrations of their own twists on this classic dish, hopefully inspiring you to try at home. Plus, to help in your future culinary endeavors, a chance to plant your own herb garden, specially designed for making chicken soup! We’re even planning a special kids craft project to decorate their own special chicken soup bowl to take home.
The cook off is certain to be a great day for the whole family so buy your tickets here!
~Trillion Attwood, Programs Manager
P.S. If you can’t attend, you can recreate the day at home! We will be making all of the recipes available online after the event with the help of Beyond Bubbie. We’ll also share our specially created playlist on Spotify, featuring all of the greatest chicken inspired songs. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more details.