Fried chicken took the spotlight at the W South Beach hotel this weekend.
Two chefs with very different culinary backgrounds — Esther Choi and Kardea Brown — came together to celebrate the fried food during the South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s “Chicken Coupe” event.
The $300-plus per person event paired two distinct styles — bold Southern-style crunch and vibrant Southeast Asian-inspired pop — with flutes of champagne, proving that fried chicken isn’t just undergoing a renaissance in America. It never really left.
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Choi believes the appeal of fried chicken is its range.
“Chicken is one of those things where it’s clean and easy to eat,” the New York-based chef told Fox News Digital. She spoke as attendees sampled her Korean-influenced K-Pop Chicken topped with white kimchi tartar sauce and plated over kimchi bacon potato salad.
“Also, it’s just delicious, but I feel like Americans love chicken always. Especially fried chicken. I mean, who doesn’t love fried chicken?”
Choi’s take is about accessibility and cultural breadth. Fried chicken may be a staple here at home, Choi said — but its demand stretches far beyond domestic borders.
“I think fried chicken is loved everywhere in the world,” she said, pointing to the food’s global resonance.
Nearby, the South Carolina-born Brown was channeling her Southern heritage into a “reimagined” dish that she said is one of the most requested at her Southern Kitchen restaurant in the Charleston airport: chicken folded into her signature fried grit balls.
The inspiration came from her love of grits, Brown said.
“So, I came up with the idea of just adding shredded chicken to my already fabulous grit balls,” Brown told Fox News Digital.
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The current chicken craze isn’t just about flavor, Brown believes. It’s about economics, too.
“Because it’s cheap,” Brown said when asked why Americans seem to be clucking for chicken.
“You know, red meat is getting fairly expensive for people — [while] chicken, for the most part, has remained affordable. So, I think chicken is having a shine, as it deserves.”
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Affordability may be fueling its popularity, but emotion keeps it on the menu, the chefs indicated.
“As a Southern woman who absolutely loves fried chicken, I am so happy for that,” Brown added.
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Other fried chicken samplings on Saturday night included Nashville hot chicken and chicken oysters with caviar.
Even as chefs continue to experiment with chicken, Brown didn’t hold back from sharing one culinary preference that she’s not sold on, be it a food trend or on a restaurant menu.
“I saw people eating chicken tartare,” she said.
“Raw chicken — I won’t suggest that to anyone, but raw chicken is not my jam.”
Choi believes there’s still room to rethink how chicken shows up on the plate — even beyond the fryer.
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“I always love, actually, a steamed chicken, which I don’t think is done as often as it should, because it’s actually the healthiest preparation for a chicken,” she said.
