Nominations for the 10th class of the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame may be submitted through the end of this month. Restaurants, chefs, festivals can be enshrined through public nominations and then narrowed down by judges. Marty Ryall, the director of the Division of Arkansas Heritage in the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, says the nominees for the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame category include some of the most beloved eateries throughout the state.
Ryall: They've been around for at least 25 years. They have to be Arkansas-owned. They can't be a chain, but these are some of the most iconic known, recognized restaurants around the state. And so we'll have three nominations there.
Then we'll have the Restaurateur of the Year. That's the chef or the cook or the restaurant owner who's had a significant impact on the food industry. So your favorite chef or food owner? You can nominate there.
Then we have food-themed events. This honors the community food-themed event or festival that preserves the community's unique food culture, food history. It has been ongoing for five or more years. Just to give you an example, some of the past winners of that or the gumbo cook-off down in Stuttgart, the Mount Nebo Chicken Fry or a couple of the last years, Arkansas Pie Festival over in Cherokee Village. So your food-themed event.
Then Gone But Not Forgotten are those restaurants that have been around forever but are no longer with us. And so we recognize one of those every year, is favorites. Cajun's Wharf in Little Rock was recognized recently. And so that's an important recognition event.
And then we have our, what is our People's Choice? And these are open to any restaurant or food truck that's been around for at least one year. And you can submit your favorite and then the top from the top five nominees, that will go online and they will be voting. This will be after Sept. 30. You nominate them up to Sept. 30, but then People's Choice will have a separate online voting system for that.
But anyway, again, those are the five categories you got till Sept. 30. And you visit our website at arkfoodhof.com and get your nominations in.
Kellams: You're looking for nominations from all 75 counties, all corners of the state?
Ryall: Absolutely. We would like to have a restaurant from all 75 counties or a person or a Gone But Not Forgotten or food-themed event, something from all 75 counties. And we've been able to get that over the past years.
I know you're listing areas Northwest Arkansas and of course, a couple of years ago in 2024, Herman's Ribhouse in Fayetteville was elected to the Arkansas Hall of Fame. Of course, we're excited to see their opening back up again. A couple other winners from up there is Neal's Cafe in Springdale. The Venesian Inn is in the Hall of Fame, so there's some pretty good representation up in Northwest Arkansas, but I know there's a lot of others up there that will make your mouth water, and you want to give them some recognition.
Kellams: You know, I think back to, I think it was 2023 and what I loved about the entries that year, the inductees into the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame is they weren't necessarily restaurants that everybody in the state had heard of. But if you were in Bald Knob, you knew the Bulldog Restaurant. If you lived in Blytheville, you knew the Kream Kastle. And if you live anywhere around Newton County, you know Ozark Cafe.
Ryall: And I love that about this program. Is that, I mean, if you travel the state, then you've heard of these, but a lot of people don't travel the state and look at some of these restaurants. And so we have on our website, that's being fine-tuned now, but where people can go and visit all these Food Hall of Fame restaurants and so it does bring some great recognition to some.
Kellams: All right, Marty, I'm not going to ask you to name a restaurant or play favorites or anything like that, but let's say it's a Friday night. You've got nothing to do but eat. What food would you like to see on your plate?
Ryall: Oh, I love a good steak. You know, I'm... There's some good, safe places in Arkansas. You know, as a matter of fact, Taylor's Steakhouse down in Dumas was a nominee or, excuse me, got inducted in the Hall of Fame last year. I think they have a great steak. And but there's so many that aren't in there yet. And but yeah, but a good steak.
And then of course, Arkansas, there's so much, so many great barbecue restaurants in Arkansas. And I love good barbecue. But, you know, I just like enjoy as I think just about, we have a great committee on Arkansas Food Hall of Fame that makes these selections and they're chefs, they're historians, they're food writers. I mean, it's a great diverse group of people that come in to make these selections. And so, you know, we all appreciate good food and good restaurants.
Marty Ryall is director of the Division of Arkansas Heritage in the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. Nominees for the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame Awards may be submitted through the end of this month at arkfoodhof.com.
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