LITTLE ROCK -- Arkansas Heritage recently announced that 2,220 nominations were submitted from all 75 Arkansas counties during the October nomination period for the 2022 Arkansas Food Hall of Fame.
The program was founded by Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism Secretary Stacy Hurst to celebrate the state's rich culinary heritage, a news release said. Criteria for the nomination process are available at http://www.ArkFoodHOF.com.
"There's something about food that brings people together, sparks nostalgic feelings and spirited conversation," Hurst said in the release. "We're proud we've helped start conversations all across our state about food culture and heritage and thank every person who took the time to make a nomination."
Winners will be selected by a committee of Arkansans who are historians, chefs, foodies and food authors. In addition to Hurst, committee members include Paul S. Austin, Jimmy Bryant, Chip Culpepper, Quantia "Key" Fletcher, Cindy Grisham, Montine McNulty, Rex Nelson, Tim Nutt, Kat Robinson, Stephanie Wade, David Ware and Stanley Young.
"It is a privilege to dive into the nominations and select the winners for 2022," Jimmy Bryant, director of Arkansas Heritage, said in the release. "We celebrate these honorees for their dedication to Arkansas's food heritage and look forward to sharing them with you all soon through our website."
Nominees, winners and finalists will be listed at on the website in February, but finalists will be revealed on Jan. 24 at 3 p.m. during a hybrid event hosted at the Arkansas Heritage building, 1100 North St. in Little Rock. Winners of the Proprietor of the Year, Food-Themed Event, Gone But Not Forgotten and People's Choice categories will be announced in a ceremony in the spring.