KODE RED KRISPY BAO Rings the Alarm for Fried Chicken Lovers and Clinches Top Billing in Fried Chicken Fest 2021


MEAL SET BISTRO
Presented by Chef Ken Nguyen
KODE RED KRISPY BAO: Double-fried buttermilk chicken thigh smothered in Korean gochujang . Topped with candied almonds, honey sriracha, red cabbage, scallions, sesame seeds, shredded carrots, sliced pickles and cilantro on a lightly fried bao. Paired with crispy potato sticks.
Photo source: Fried Chicken Fest Facebook

January 25, 2021 (Winnipeg, MB) – The votes have been tallied and the results are in! Congratulations to Meal Set Bistro the winner of Fried Chicken Fest 2021 as voted by the foodies and fans. Their entry the KODE RED KRISPY BAO swept the top spot but it’s clear from the chatter online and among foodies and fans there were no slouches in this year’s friendly and flavourful competition. Fried chicken lovers made organizers proud again this past week.

Big kudos to the team at CRSPYBNCH who placed second with their Cheat Day Sandwich. The Block and Blade’s Twice Fried Mother Clucker with the crunch heard ’round the world and Little Bones Wings’s Raging Rooster TIED for third place. Honourable mention from the fan votes goes to Tommy’s Pizzeria for their punchy Spicy Chicken Sandwich featuring a halo of flaming hot Cheetos.

Congratulations also goes to Yard Burger—the first place Judge’s Choice selection for Fried Chicken Fest 2021 as chosen by Chef Allan Pineda. He adds, “This one hit from a bunch of angles. Bacon, fried egg, jam and peanut butter… say what? And it worked! It was creative. The taste was spot on and the chicken was so good. This one had no weaknesses.” His second and third place picks go to deer + almond’s Tribute to Don and Roughage Eatery’s La Bomba UnChicken Burger respectively, with an honourable mention to CRSPYBNCH for their Cheat Day Sandwich.

Fried Chicken Fest was on track to produce close to $1 million dollars of economic impact on the local economy and this will have a tremendous spillover effect for the restaurant industry and the push to #saveMBrestaurants. More than 40 restaurants from almost every corner of Winnipeg put forth a stunning array of fried chicken dishes that were not only visually appealing but delivered on flavour and fun for Manitoba foodies. It was the best year ever and organizers weren’t even sure if it was worth doing during a pandemic but it’s clear foodies and fans were delighted by this tasty distraction from the daily headlines.

“To know that this humble event put a much-needed financial boost into the city’s struggling restaurant industry makes it all worthwhile,” says Susie Erjavec Parker, co-founder of Fried Chicken Fest and champion of the #saveMBrestaurants campaign. “We were told at least one restaurant had to hire back some laid-off staff to keep up with the demand of Fried Chicken Fest orders. Multiple restaurants were selling out of their entry dishes daily and hearing these stories was exciting and motivating.”

Even though Fried Chicken Fest is over for this year, foodies and fans of our local restaurant scene are encouraged to support their favourite restaurants whenever possible during the current pandemic restrictions by ordering pickup or takeout to help #saveMBrestaurants.

About Fried Chicken Fest
Every January since 2018, Winnipeg restaurants create a signature fried chicken dish just for Fried Chicken Fest. Fried chicken lovers of all ages from all over Manitoba are invited to try as many as they can in the week-long food festival and vote for their favorite online at FriedChickenFest.ca.