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First place winners, from left, Rickya Parker (sweet) and Camryn Lindsey (savory) stand with honorable mention winner Claire Jolley. (Photos by JOYANNA LOVE/ ADVERTISER)

Adult Winners: Peach cook-off winners in the adult category were Phyllis Cofer (sweet) and Nathan Wilkerson (savory and canned).

Marli Wood and Kailin Handy watch as Bea Seth of Eastern Eats pours fruit into a skillet for chutney.

Bea Seth of Eastern Eats demonstrated how to make fruit chutney at the 2017 Peach Cook-off.

Janice Kelley of the Chilton County Famers Federation Women's Committee presents drawing winner Dwight Swindle with a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

A variety of dishes were available for tasting at the 2017 Peach Cook-off.

By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Anticipation built for the tasting and announcement of winners at the 2017 Chilton County Peach Cook-off on June 17.

The cook-off changed a bit this year with first place being awarded in three taste categories, instead of the traditional top three winners overall.

Rickya Parker was the winner of the youth sweet category with her homemade peach pop tarts. She said she was inspired to enter the cook-off after participating, but not placing in the Peach Pageant a previous year.

“I decided to do something different,” Parker said.

She said she found a recipe she liked and went from there.

Camryn Lindsey took the prize in the youth savory category with her one-skillet peach glazed chicken.

Phyllis Cofer won the adult sweet category with her fresh peach cheesecake She was in shock when her name was announced.

“I never thought I would win. I just entered for my son because he works for the Extension and he said,’ mom, will you please enter?'”Cofer said.

She chose the sweet category because she loves baking, and her son Trevor enjoys her baking.

“I love cheesecake. I actually took two recipes and did a twist of my own and made fresh peach cheesecake,” Phyllis Cofer said.

Nathan Wilkerson took the top honors in the savory and canned categories. His savory dish was peach crusted pork tenderloin with hot peach marmalade. He also entered the hot peach marmalade in the canned category and took top honors there also.

Wilkerson had decided to enter the event this year after presenting the cooking demonstration at last year’s event.

“I decided I wanted to do something savory … I love my smoker. I love doing smoked meats and I thought it would lend itself well with the peach theme,” Wilkerson said.

Each winner received $50, a Peach Festival T-shirt and a monogrammed apron.

While the audience was waiting for the judges to make a decision, they enjoyed a demonstration by Bea Seth of Eastern Eats of how to make fruit chutney. She used local peaches and berries, along with dried fruit for the dish.

“I let the water [natural juices] from the peaches and the fruit actually swell the dried fruit,” Seth said.

Some sugar and seasonings are added, then the mixture is cooked until the liquid thickens.

Chutney is a thick sauce eaten in a variety of ways depending on the recipe and the country. Seth said it is eaten on sandwiches a lot in England and with fish in India. Seth’s sauces are packaged at the Chilton Food Innovation Center and sold in Piggly Wiggly and Western grocery stores in the Homewood and Birmingham areas.

While creating the chutney for the demonstration, Seth highlighted ways to bring the best tastes and smells out of spices. She said she uses a coffee grinder to grind her cinnamon, rather than buying the powder. She said adding a pinch of turmeric helps the chutney keep a peach color even after it is cooked.

Attendees were able to sample all of the dishes after the winners were announced bringing the event to a tasty conclusion.

The Peach Cook-off is sponsored by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System Chilton County Office, the Chilton County Famers Federation Women’s Committee and the Clanton Lions Club.

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