In 1988, the Virginia legislature declared Brunswick County the home of the famous Brunswick stew.
But the passage of time hasn’t cooled long-simmering tensions between the town near the North Carolina line and its competitor in Brunswick, Georgia.
Kevin Pair was the winner of the Virginia-based Taste of Brunswick stew contest last year, but it’s an industry full of camaraderie. That means he helped this year’s winner, Jonathan Brown, lug about 85 gallons of the warm mix of meat, spices and veggies nearly 80 miles for the annual tasting at the Virginia General Assembly.
“I describe Brunswick stew as somewhat, a little salty, a little sweet, a little pepper on the back. You know it's ready when you stick the paddle in the middle,” Pair told Radio IQ.
But when pressed for more details on the secret to making good, Virginia-style Brunswick stew, he pointed to Brown who was more discrete in his response.
"Well, I can’t tell you that," Brown said, laughing.
A long running tradition, Brown and Pair both gave out stew samples starting early in the morning and kept going till Governor Glenn Youngkin stopped by for lunch.
“Let's be clear, in the all the great Brunswick stew championship cooks off we win all the time," Youngkin said, belly full of stew. "The greatest form of flattery is imitation. And there’s folks all over the country, and some in Georgia, but at the end of the day, if you want real Brunswick stew, you gotta come to Brunswick County.”
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
