Downtown Plate Crawl a 'tasty success'

Have you ever wondered how your home cooking stacked up against a professional chef? Folks flocked to the Downtown Plate Crawl on Thursday evening to find out.  Sponsored by Main Street Beaufort, USA, the first ever tasting competition brought nearly 100 taste testers to sample the various recipes at different stations spread throughout downtown Beaufort.

The competitors were Tomato Pie – Jeff Evans of Beaufort vs. Clara Green of Plums Restaurant; Collard Greens – Dawn Pemberton of Beaufort vs. Chris Johnson of Q on Bay; Pasta All’ Amatriciana – Jessica DeSantis of Ridgeland vs. Paul Donella of Panini’s on the Waterfront; Red Rice – Amy Daughtry of Beaufort vs. Allison Spellicy of Lowcountry Produce Market & Cafe; Brunswick Stew – Andrew Lyons of Beaufort vs. Michael Miller of Luther’s Rare & Well Done; Hummus – Lisa Arnett of Beaufort vs. Beth Shaw of Breakwater Restaurant; Lemon Pound Cake – Kitty Wright of Beaufort vs. Dana Johnsrude of Magnolia Bakery and Cafe; Corn & Crab Bisque – Mildred Glover of St. Helena Island vs. Brian Waters of Saltus River Grill.

It turns out that Beaufort has a pretty darn good collection of home cooks too.

The winners of the competition were:
Home cook, Lisa Arnett of Beaufort – Hummus
Clara Greene of Plums Restaurant – Tomato Pie
Home cook, Mildred Glover of St. Helena Island – Corn & Crab Bisque
Home cook, Andrew Lyons of Beaufort – Brunswick Stew
Paul Donella of Panini’s on the Waterfront – Pasta All’ Amatriciana
Home cook, Amy Daughtry of Beaufort – Red Rice
Chris Johnson of Q on Bay – Collard Greens
Home cook, Kitty Wright of Beaufort – Lemon Pound Cake

This event was undoubtedly a fabulous addition to downtown Beaufort’s culinary scene, and we’re certainly looking forwad to next year.  For photos of the Downtown Plate Crawl, please visit our Facebook page, here.