Corbin Tourism seeking to partner with World Food Championships

If you’re a local chef wanting a place to showcase your skills, then you might just get the opportunity to do so, provided the Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission is successful in their quest to form a new and exciting partnership.

During an Aug. 25 special called meeting, Tourism Director Maggy Monhollen informed the commission about a unique opportunity that could grant culinary enthusiasts in the area the ability to show what they can do on a global stage.

“I have been courting World Food Championships since April,” Monhollen told the commission. “This is a massive event where people from all over the world come to compete in different divisions.”

The official WFC website describes the competition as “the largest in Food Sport,” adding, “the World Food Championships is also the springboard for many up-and-coming culinary stars and home cooks as they seek TV fame through many well-known food shows and acting opportunities.”

Last year, the 9th Annual World Food Championships drew in over 1,500 culinary hopefuls from all over the United States, as well as other countries from around the world.

As a gateway partner, Monhollen explained that Corbin would be able to sponsor competitors in the World Food Championships, assuming they perform well enough at one of three qualifying events that will be held locally throughout the course of a year.

Monhollen said that Finger Lickin’ Chicken Week would provide one opportunity for cooks to qualify for the WFC, as would Burger Week. A third event would be added to take the place of the Big Green Egg Fest in the fall, as that particular event is likely to end in 2022.

“Instead of doing Egg Fest next year, I would like to do a barbecue contest, or steak,” Monhollen said when considering options for the future.

Monhollen asked the commission for a total of $5,000 to be set aside from the tourism budget in order to pursue the hopeful partnership between Corbin and WFC. Commissioners agreed, saying the exposure that would result from the partnership would be well worth the investment.

Should everything go to plan, Monhollen said that the WFC would send representatives to Corbin who would offer training classes for anyone wishing to serve as a tasting judge at the qualifying events. These judges would determine the winners in each local competition, and the Tourism Commission would then sponsor those cooks as they travel to Dallas to compete with other qualifiers from far and wide.

In addition to this, Monhollen said that she would also like to use the funds to host a site visit with WFC personnel where she could pitch Corbin as a potential location for a future championship round event. “We would want to host in 2024,” she said. “We have the facilities, and the hotels to do it. It would be very prestigious for the city.”

As of now, Corbin Tourism is the only group from Kentucky pursuing a partnership like this with the WFC, although Monhollen said that likely won’t be the case for long. For this reason, she is hoping to move quickly in an effort to have a plan in place as soon as possible.

“This would definitely draw people from all over the country, but it’s really about the prestige of Corbin being involved in the World Food Championships,” Monhollen said. “This would be national-level advertising, and is really about as big as you can get.”

The Corbin Tourism Commission hopes to learn more definite details about this new endeavor between now and early 2023.