Nominations open for Arkansas Food Hall of Fame

The Department of Arkansas Heritage is now accepting nominations for the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame.

The statewide program, which is in its second year, seeks to recognize “the legendary restaurants, proprietors and food-themed events across the state,” according to a statement from Stacy Hurst, director of the department.

Nominations will be open until Oct. 31.

“Food culture in Arkansas is a significant aspect of our state’s heritage, just like architecture or music,” Hurst said in the statement. “The Department of Arkansas Heritage is proud to honor Arkansas’s food traditions through the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame, highlighting this integral part of who we are.”

A 13-member Food Hall of Fame committee will select finalists and then winners from the nominations.

Honorees and finalists will be announced spring 2018, according to the department.

Award categories follow.

• Arkansas Food Hall of Fame recognizes “those long-standing restaurants that have become legendary attractions in Arkansas,” according to the department.
• Proprietor of the Year honors a chef, cook and/or restaurant owner in Arkansas who has made “significant achievements in the food industry.”
• Food-Themed Event honors “one of the many community food-themed events or festivals that make our state a great place to live.”
• People’s Choice for best restaurant or food truck.
• Gone But Not Forgotten honors the “collective culinary legacy of a once-and-always influential Arkansas restaurant that has since ceased operations.”