Break out the White Lily flour and shortening. It’s biscuit baking time in East Point.
For the 26th year, the city’s Woman’s Club is hosting what’s become a delicious community event. The Biscuit Social and Firefighters Biscuit Bake-off is part party, part cooking challenge to firefighters around the metro area to whip up their best biscuits. The event, scheduled for Feb. 23, usually raises about $1,000 for Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation.
By making a donation, biscuit lovers can have breakfast and watch the competitors at work.
“We start early and serve several hundred biscuits,” said club secretary Barbara Talley. “The ladies of the club cook bacon, sausage and gravy, and serve the biscuits with jelly and butter.”
The breakfast begins at 8:30 at the Jefferson Avenue Baptist Church. Retired East Point firefighter Randy Coggins plans to work for several hours before then to bake enough biscuits to feed the crowd.
“I’ve been making biscuits for years, and the ladies of the club asked me to help out with this event,” said Coggins, who now lives near Carrollton. “Everybody has a ministry of some sort; biscuits are mine. I love to eat, and I love to cook. The recipe for my biscuits is top, top secret, but I can tell you I only use White Lily unbleached, self-rising flour, Crisco and buttermilk. The secret’s in measuring very, very carefully.”
While the public is getting their fill of breakfast biscuits, the competitors will prepare to start baking around 10 a.m. Among them will be last year’s winner, Kim Akins, a firefighter engineer who has been with the city of Alpharetta for 14 years.
“Last year was the first time I entered, and I won,” said Akins, whose husband, Mark, is a captain with the Johns Creek fire department. “I did a jalapeno cheddar biscuit, but I don’t know if I”ll do that again this year or not. I might just go with a good fashioned biscuit. I’ll see what hits me when I get there.”
The entries will be rated by a panel of three judges, said Frankie Burkes, a Woman’s Club member who has overseen the event for the last 15 years. The winner walks away with a bright red apron and the envy of other bakers.
“I’ve had some of the biscuits in the past, and they are really, really good,” said Burkes. “They can be yeast biscuits or not - that won’t make them a winner. They’re all judged purely on texture and taste.”
Competitors must be in uniform and bring their own supplies. And there’s still time to sign up.
“We have room for 12, and so far we have six,” said Burkes. “We hope to get another six before the day. But it’s always a fun time regardless of how many we have.”
To participate in the bake-off, call 770-774-9745. The Jefferson Avenue Baptist Church is located at 1150 Jefferson Ave., East Point; 404-767-0582.
Each Saturday, we shine a spotlight on a local neighborhood, city or community. To suggest a place for us to visit, e-mail H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or call 404-514-6162.
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