Mason’s Grill executive chef Willie Wallis advanced to the top 8 in the Thomas Hometown Breakfast Battle.
To commemorate its 135th birthday, Thomas English Muffins reached out to 135 chefs across the country. Wallis says the company contacted him because of the well-known weekend brunch at Mason’s Grill.
Each chef created a regional breakfast dish using Thomas-brand English muffins.
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Wallis created a Cajun crawfish and tasso eggs benedict—sliced Canadian bacon, poached eggs and a sauteed crawfish and tasso cream topping stacked on the English muffins.
“This recipe is new and original for the competition. They requested a locally inspired item, and I automatically thought of crawfish and Cajun spices,” Wallis says. “Nothing says Louisiana cooking the way crawfish does, and it had to have that Louisiana kick.”
Wallis says he is glad to have come so far in the competition, but chalks his success up to the love for Louisiana cooking.
“Louisiana has some of the most unique cuisine in the world,” he says. “[There is] something about the way we cook in Louisiana. We cook with heart and spice. You can tell when you eat homemade Louisiana food.”
The competition began in mid-September, and the initial 135 chefs were cut to 16 within the first week.
Wallis must make it through the quarter finals and semi-finals to compete for best breakfast chef.
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“I am excited to have made it this far and confident that I will continue to move on to the quarter finals,” Wallis says. “But we need everyone’s support to make Louisiana proud.”
The contest results are entirely decided by public voters. For the remainder of the competition, users can vote once daily for their favorite chef and recipe. Vote for Chef Wallis and his Cajun Eggs Benedict here.
Voting for the quarter finals remains open through Oct. 11; voting for the semi-finals is open Oct. 12-Oct. 18; and voting for the finals is open Oct. 19-Oct. 25.