By John Lovett
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A recipe that paid homage to the Osage Nation won Chef Roni Mathis the title of 2024 Top Chef NWA.
TOP CHEF NWA — Roni Mathis of the Arkansas Food Innovation Centers at the Market Center of the Ozarks won the Top Chef NWA competition on Oct. 25. The event is a fundraiser for the Rogers Public Library Foundation. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo)
Mathis, a chef with the Arkansas Food Innovation Center at the Market Center of the Ozarks (AFIC@MCO), bested three other competitors in the event sponsored by the Rogers Public Library Foundation in Lowell with her Osage Ramen, which combines flavors that she said “tells the story of the local landscape and honors the traditions of the Osage people.”
“It’s an honor to create a dish that not only celebrates the unique flavors of our local ingredients but also honors the legacy of the Osage people,” said Mathis, the center’s commissary and research and development manager. “At AFIC@MCO, we’re passionate about showcasing the richness of our region in every dish, while supporting the next generation of food entrepreneurs.”
Mathis’s Osage Ramen used locally foraged ingredients and a fusion of traditional and modern techniques. The ingredients included sassafras, pine, lotus, Asian carp narutomaki, sumac-pickled daikon radish, hickory-smoked mushroom and bacon.
“We are incredibly proud of Chef Mathis for this well-deserved recognition,” Darryl Holliday, executive director of AFIC@MCO, said. “Her culinary expertise and commitment to our mission — fostering the innovation and prosperity of northwest Arkansas’ small food businesses — are invaluable assets to AFIC@MCO.”
Holliday went on to say the Top Chef NWA award reflects the center’s commitment to regional excellence, the community’s potential to lead the future of food, and is “a testament to Chef Mathis’s dedication to highlighting local food culture and providing a platform for regional food entrepreneurs to thrive.”
AFIC@MCO — Darryl Holliday is the director of the Arkansas Food Innovation Center at the Market Center of the Ozarks, a unit of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo)
Chef Casey Coverdell, the Walmart AMP executive artist catering chef, won the Crowd Favorite Award with his main dish of Pastrami Short Rib and pumpkin risotto. The event, a fundraiser for the Rogers Public Library, was held at Metro Appliances and More in Lowell on Oct. 25.
The Arkansas Food Innovation Center at the Market Center of the Ozarks is a unit of the of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The original Arkansas Food Innovation Center is based at the Milo J. Shult Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Fayetteville.
To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow us on X at @ArkAgResearch, subscribe to the Food, Farms and Forests podcast and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.