ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, July 31, 1996 TAG: 9607310024
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FOOD EDITOR ALMENA HUGHES
You know how when people are trying to describe the taste of an unfamiliar food, they often say it tastes like chicken? This time, they may be right.
The hot item at this year's Virginia Food Festival will be chicken feet.
The 15-year-old Richmond-based festival, sponsored by the nonprofit Virginia Agribusiness Council, is a showcase of agricultural products produced in the Commonwealth. The council's Roanoke representative, Bette Brand, said the event is a fun, casual, wonderful way to introduce children as well as adults to new cuisines. It also offers musical entertainment, displays, contests, special events and plenty of recipe give-aways.
This year's menu includes pork b-b-q, steamed crabs, corn on the cob, farm-raised catfish, apple cider, roasted-in-shell peanuts, sweet potatoes, flaming cherry crepes, tarts, wines, pit-cooked top round of beef, pit-cooked barbecued chicken and lots of other goodies.
As for the chicken feet, they are popular for export by local poultry producers, council president Donna Pugh said. In Hong Kong and China, two major export markets, the feet, considered a delicacy, typically are boiled, fried or used in soups. At the festival, they probably will be boiled with spices, Pugh said.
"The beef is always wonderful," Brand noted. She said that she also usually samples the corn, fresh fruit and produce. She predicted, however, that she'd probably sidestep the feet.
Tickets to the Aug. 7 feeding frenzy, 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. at the Fairgrounds on Strawberry Hill, Richmond, must be purchased by Aug. 6. They cost $20 each. Brand has them available locally. Call her at 977-5707.
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