By Bonita Wilborn
For all of you who have taken the time to read the Mountain Valley News 2018 spring magazine entitled, Mountain Valley Living, you will probably recognize the Green Leaf Grill as one of the restaurants that were spotlighted in the “Local Flavor” section of the magazine. Green Leaf Grill is once again in the spotlight as the winner of a statewide contest.
Green Leaf Grill in Mentone, owned and operated by Rainsville native, Jimmy Rogers, recently came away with the top honor in Bama’s Best Catfish Contest for 2018, which was sponsored by the Alabama Catfish Producers, a division of the Alabama Farmers Federation. Green Leaf Grill was among the four finalists in the contest, which celebrates National Catfish Month in August.
On Thursday, July 26, the contest carried judges: Mike McCall – Editor of Catfish Journal, Townsend Kyser – President of Catfish Farmers of America, and Wendell Edwards – ABC Anchor (33/40), from Mentone, located in DeKalb County; the northeast corner of the state, south about 93 miles to St. Clair County to a restaurant called The Ark located in Riverside. The next day, Friday, July 27, judges traveled another 78 miles farther southwest to Heard’s BBQ and Soul Food located in Maplesville in Chilton County. The last stop took the judges yet another 90 miles southwest to a restaurant called David’s Catfish House located in Thomasville in Clarke County.
Four finalists, three judges, two days, and lots of catfish, all came down to the announcement of one winner and Mentone’s Green Leaf Grill took top honors in the competition.
“It was an honor to be a finalist, but winning is just a dream come true,” said Green Leaf Grill owner Jimmy Rogers. “I was born and raised eating catfish. It’s always been on my menu, and it’s our best-seller.”
Bama’s Best Catfish finalists were selected from over 200 customer nominations submitted on the Federation’s Facebook page and at AlabamaCatfish.org. David’s Catfish House received the People’s Choice Award through online voting.
Contest Judge, Townsend Kyser, said he enjoyed seeing U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish prepared by restaurant owners passionate about cooking for customers who love to eat catfish. “I especially like seeing the different ways they prepared catfish; from catfish cakes to seasoned grilled catfish. We all eat with our eyes first, and when I saw the fried and grilled catfish at the Green Leaf Grill, I couldn’t wait to bite into it. It was as good as it looked. Rogers’ preparation and presentation pushed the Green Leaf Grill to the top for judges.”
Contest Judge, Mike McCall, commented, “The restaurants were unique, and choosing a winner was difficult. I’ve been practicing for judging the contest my entire life. I was born for this. I love catfish. I grew up eating it, practically every single Friday. My grandmother would hold a fish fry, and I would often overindulge,”
Contest Judge, Wendell Edwards, added, “In addition to eating delicious catfish judging the event was educational. I learned a lot about catfish and its production.”
Alabama ranks second nationally in catfish production, behind Mississippi only. Those two states, combined with Arkansas and Texas, account for 96 percent of catfish production in the U.S. It’s big business, and competitions like this only help. Several of the restaurants said their business had increased since they were named as contest finalist. I also met some nice catfish farmers who are proud of what they raise on their farms.”