Nick Wallace to Headline Jxn Food & Wine Festival March 2, 2024

The Local Palate, in partnership with the City With Soul and Visit Mississippi and sponsoring partners, will welcome the inaugural JXN Food and Wine Festival to downtown Jackson on March 2, 2024. As of February 19, 2024, the event was sold out.

JXN Food & Wine will be held at the Mississippi Museum of Art and Jackson Convention Complex.

The event will feature a stellar line-up of local and national award-winning chefs, including Jackson’s own – the festival’s Chef Chair and Season 34 Chopped winner - Nick Wallace, who will welcome co-host and Jackson-born Iron Chef Cat Cora.

Additional chefs confirmed to participate include:

Top Chef: Houston contestants Damarr Brown, Ashleigh Shanti, and Buddha Lo, a two-time season winner.

Jackson Chefs

• Fabien Biraud (Estelle)
• Hunter Evans (Elvie’s)
• Grant Hutcheson (The Pig & Pint)
• Geno Lee (Big Apple Inn)
• Chaz Lindsay (Pulito Osteria)
• Godfrey Morgan (Godfrey’s)
• Joseph Sambou (Sambou’s African Kitchen)
• Enrika Williams (Fauna Foodworks)
• Eddie Wright (Eddie Wright BBQ)

Mississippi Chefs

• Vishwesh Bhatt (Snackbar, Oxford)
• Cooper Miller (Forklift, Tupelo)

National Chef

• Ming Pu (Brooklyn and the Butcher, Outcast Fish & Oyster Bar, and The Exchange Pub and Kitchen, Louisville, KY)

"I'm super excited about the culinary traditions in Mississippi and I just want that word to go across the world," said Wallace. "We're all ambassadors for Mississippi and we're going to bring all of our friends here to celebrate on March 2, 2024."

All ticket holders will enjoy tastings from over 20 local and regional chefs, samples of wine, beer, spirits, and nonalcoholic offerings, a demo stage with Top Chefs, and live music.

“It is an honor and privilege to play a significant role in launching a new festival, especially in a location that truly is so deserving and is brimming with exceptional talent,” says Amanda FitzGerald, Director of Sales and Marketing for the Local Palate magazine. “JXN Food & Wine Festival will serve as a beacon to locals and visitors to demonstrate what Jackson offers. I can’t wait to see what the inaugural year brings and the many possibilities for the future.”

Doors open for general admission at 6:30 PM. VIP ticket holders are invited to arrive at 6 PM for early access, including an exclusive VIP area with hors d’oeuvers and a complimentary bar, dedicated restrooms, and a celebrity chef meet and greet.

FitzGerald added, “We invite guests to experience and celebrate the rich culinary heritage of Jackson, Mississippi.”

To learn more about the event and purchase tickets, go to jxnfoodandwine.com.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Mississippi Restaurant Association Education Foundation. This initiative supports aspiring students pursuing higher education in restaurant management and culinary arts.

About The Local Palate

THE LOCAL PALATE is a Southern food culture magazine that tells the stories behind the people, places, and foodways that make up this diverse and dynamic culinary region. Here, food and drink are more than sustenance—they’re a way of life. We invite readers to join us and our team of experts as we explore Southern recipes, traditions, artisanal products, makers, chefs, getaways, and communities and use food as a lens to better understand this rich, storied region. Through our magazine, digital channels, events, and online shop, the Local Palate Marketplace, we connect our audience to the people and products we cover, giving them the opportunity to experience these stories first-hand.