Winner will appear in Taste of Home magazine, cook with Carla Hall, and take home $25,000

Quarter-Finalist

Shawn McDuffey

The title of Favorite Chef would be an incredible honor and a validation of my culinary passion. I want to share my story in the magazine.

Currently 8

in the Quarter-Finals

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You decide who will appear in Taste of Home magazine, and win $25,000!

Voting for Semi-Finalists ends Thursday the 23rd of July at 7PM PDT

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What is your signature dish?

One of my signature dishes is mirliton casserole dumplings served with a Creole/Asian-inspired cream sauce, all atop Voodoo fried rice. The dish begins with a traditional mirliton seafood casserole, which is then wrapped into dumplings. These dumplings are pan-seared and paired with a cream-based sauce seasoned with Creole spices, oyster sauce, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. The Voodoo fried rice is sautéed in smoked oyster oil and includes onion, bell pepper, celery, and crawfish tails.

Who is your culinary inspiration?

One of my culinary inspirations would be Chef Cat Cora. We went to the same high school, and it was inspiring to see that someone from our hometown could go that far in culinary arts. It made me want to leave a mark in the culinary world that I could be known for representing our hometown.

What would you do with the $25,000?

With the prize money, I plan to open my very own Cajun/Asian fusion food truck. I would also like to create a line of shelf-stable products for making mirliton casserole and other regional casseroles.

James Beard Foundation

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