With the submissions tallied, Arkansas Heritage is pleased to announce that 2,220 nominations were submitted from all 75 Arkansas counties during the October nomination period for the 2022 Arkansas Food Hall of Fame.
The program was founded by the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism Sec. Stacy Hurst to celebrate the state’s rich culinary heritage. Criteria for the nomination process are laid out at ArkFoodHOF.com.
“There’s something about food that brings people together, sparks nostalgic feelings and spirited conversation,” said Hurst. “We’re proud we’ve helped start conversations all across our state about food culture and heritage and thank every person who took the time to make a nomination.”
Winners will be selected by a committee of Arkansans who are historians, chefs, foodies, and food authors. In addition to Hurst, committee members include Paul S. Austin, Jimmy Bryant, Chip Culpepper, Quantia “Key” Fletcher, Cindy Grisham, Montine McNulty, Rex Nelson, Tim Nutt, Kat Robinson, Stephanie Wade, David Ware, and Stanley Young.
“It is a privilege to dive into the nominations and select the winners for 2022,” said Jimmy Bryant, director of Arkansas Heritage. “We celebrate these honorees for their dedication to Arkansas’s food heritage and look forward to sharing them with you all soon through our website.”
Nominees, winners, and finalists will be listed at ArkFoodHOF.com in February, but finalists will be revealed on January 24, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. during a hybrid event hosted at the Arkansas Heritage building, 1100 North St in Little Rock. Winners of the Proprietor of the Year, Food-Themed Event, Gone But Not Forgotten and People’s Choice categories will be announced in a ceremony in spring 2022.
For more information about this program, please contact Deputy Chief of Communications Mandy Shoptaw at mandy.shoptaw@arkansas.gov or 501-324-9788.
