This Franklin chef is trying to win a national cooking contest. Find out how to vote for him.

Local chef Justin Lockridge is surprised and humbled by the support he has received from the community as part of a national contest.

“I did not expect to get this far,” he said.

Lockridge, the chef and kitchen/banquet manager at the Root River Center in Franklin, said someone must've submitted his name into the Favorite Chef competition presented by Carla Hall – a chef and television personality. The winner will get $25,000, their photo on the cover of Taste of Home, and a cooking experience with Hall.

Lockridge said he doesn't know who entered him.

Lockridge said he received an email saying he was invited to participate which he said, “sounded kind of cool.” After submitting a response to a few questions in the email he got another message saying he was accepted into the competition.

Lockridge said the competition, organized by charity organization Colossal, is “really a fundraiser for the James Beard Foundation.”

The James Beard Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to "celebrate, support, and elevate the people behind America’s food culture and champion a standard of good food anchored in talent, equity, and sustainability,” according to its website.

How the Favorite Chef competition works

Lockridge said the competition started with participants assigned to random groups.

“(I had) no idea how many groups there are or how many people are in it total,” he said.

His group started with 62 people, was cut down to the top 20; then the top 10.

After weeks of voting which started on May 20, Lockridge is now part of the top five in his group. He said the level of support has been monumental ― and mostly word-of-mouth.

“It’s like a people’s choice thing,” Lockridge said. “It’s a matter of promoting yourself through social media or however you want to do it.”

Public voting ends July 25 when the top person from each group will go head-to-head, according to Lockridge. Competitors will be selected for "People's Choice" and "Carla's Pick."

Each group’s winner will compete for the title of Favorite Chef through a plating competition. Each chef selects a dish and creates a plate, Lockridge said. Photos of the plates will be sent to Carla Hall, who picks her favorite.

“It’s not quite a Top Chef situation,” Lockridge said with a chuckle.

He does think the plating will “get pretty intense" and has plans to possibly utilize “a couple appetizers we do for banquets” for his plating if he makes it into the finals.

What would Lockridge do with the winnings?

The winner will be announced Aug. 2. In addition to a $25,000 price, they will be part of a two-day Taste of Home photo shoot in September. They will also visit the James Beard Foundation house in New York to spend two days cooking with Carla Hall, Lockridge said.

If he wins, Lockridge wants to use the prize money to start a community cooking project offering classes, communal dinners and workshops to teach nutrition and other skills.

“By creating a space where people can connect, learn, and enjoy delicious food, I aim to strengthen community bonds and celebrate the rich tradition of gathering around the table,” Lockridge told the competition organizers. “This initiative would foster a sense of belonging and togetherness.”

Lockridge’s love for cooking started as a teenager

At age 16, Lockridge took a job as a server at a Denny’s in Glendale.

“I kind of fell in love with the service industry and just kind of stayed in it,” he said.

He didn’t go to culinary school on the advice of a chef he worked with who told Lockridge he'd have better experience working in the industry and taking the knowledge from chefs.

In his 27 years in the industry, Lockridge has been a server, bartender, manager and head chef.

He said his passion is fueled by the people he serves.

“There’s an instant reaction when you serve someone food,” he said. “You’re creating memories with every meal they have, and I was always drawn to that.”

To vote for Lockridge: favchef.com/2024/justin-lockridge

For more information on the competition: favchef.com

Contact Erik S. Hanley at erik.hanley@jrn.com. Like his Facebook page, The Redheadliner, and follow him on X @Redheadliner.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Franklin chef advances in 'Favorite Chef' competition by Carla Hall