Ron Eyester on Fried Chicken and Mother Clucker

Angry chef Ron Eyester is hosting the Mother Clucker Fried Chicken Festival this Saturday, April 13. The event is in its second year and has its roots in, of course, chef smack talk: "A bunch of us guys were sitting around talking and thinking about how fun it would be to have a little friendly competition with fried chicken," said Eyester, and thus, Mother Clucker was born.

The Rosebud/Family Dog chef became a convert later in life. "We didn't really have fried chicken in New York," he joked. He learned quickly, though, honing his Southern cooking skills at Food 101 before opening Rosebud. Now, the restaurant's buttermilk fried chicken is one of his most popular dishes. "It's the ultimate comfort food," Eyester said, adding that the variety of preparation and cuts offered in Atlanta keep the staple dish from becoming overplayed.

Competing against Eyester are local chefs including Eddie Hernandez of Taqueria del Sol, Justin and Jonathan Fox of Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q, Scott Weaver of Chick-a-Biddy, and Todd Richards from The Shed at Glenwood. The festival runs from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here for $35 and include fried chicken from each of the chefs as well as one cocktail. SweetWater brews and High Road Craft ice cream will also be available for purchase.
—Laura Scholz
· 2013 Mother Clucker Fried Chicken Festival [BPT]
· All Coverage of Ron Eyester [-EATL-]