Looking Back: Hot Chicken on a Tin Roof

by Marit Schroeder, intern

My first event as a Bite and Booze intern was Hot Chicken on a Tin Roof, and it was such a fun night! I wasn’t entirely sure about the amount of people that were going to show up and how the whole night would go down, but we had such a good time and it was a great start to my internship.

We did recipe testing at the #officehouse for about a week beforehand, so I got to try a bunch of spicy chicken recipes with different blends. I don’t usually get my lunch cooked fresh from a chef so I was living the high life. Some of the recipes were killer fire and some missed a key spice, but the final recipe was the perfect mix.

Hot Chicken Drumsticks

On the day of the event, we spent all day prepping food and getting stuff over to Tin Roof Brewing. It was also my first time in a brewery, and all the equipment was super cool to check out. (P.S., head over any time their taproom is open and take a free brewery tour.) I even got to try most of their beers that night and came away with a few favorites.

When the event started, I was pretty blown away with the nearly 400 people that showed up, and 20% of the food and beer proceeds went towards flood relief for the Great Baton Rouge Food Bank. We teamed up with some of the folks over at Roux 61. They helped us source food donations and came out to help cook the chicken and keep it rolling out all night. It was cool to see all the people that came out to Tin Roof and help serve food. I might’ve have dropped a few servings, it’s fine. My parents showed up to the event, too, just to make fun of me a bit while working, but they bought some trays of food so I’ll allow it.

Hot Chicken Plate complete with Mac and Cheese and Greens.

The event lasted for about 4 hours, and there was a steady stream of people coming and going all night. We served up hot or mild chicken, greens, mac and cheese and a dessert option of homemade banana pudding. The mac and cheese was definitely my favorite, and I loved the leftovers we got to take home after the event was over.

Overall, the event was a success and I’m still working here long enough after to tell my tale!