Chef Jon “JD” Davis of City Grocery in Oxford, Mississippi, claimed the title of 2025 King of Mississippi Seafood.
Each year, states across the nation host their seafood cook-offs, and the winners from each state travel to New Orleans in August for The Great American Seafood Cook-Off. Mississippi Seafood hosts its statewide contest each year in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Mississippi Chef’s interest in competing in the Mississippi Seafood Cook-Off has grown. Interested chefs are required to apply and submit their recipes. Seven chefs are selected and have 50 minutes to complete their dishes.
“This was my third year doing it,” shared Davis. “The past couple of years, I got pretty close, and this year, like, I really, really wanted it!”
Davis went all in on his dish this year.
“I made fried Mississippi snapper coated in cornmeal, a little bit of salt, white pepper, and some other secret seasonings, I cannot tell you,” laughed Davis. “And crawfish-fried farro set on top of some Thai basil dressing, and then had a blood orange and fennel salad off to the side.”
Now, Davis is contemplating his dish to take to New Orleans in August for The Great American Seafood Cook-Off. There, the nation’s best seafood chefs will compete to create the most delicious and creative dish using domestic seafood native to their state. Chefs will have one hour to prep, cook, and plate a seafood dish to wow the spectators and judges.
“This dish will be something completely different than what I did for the Mississippi cook-off,” shared Davis. “I want to represent every single part of Mississippi. Trying to come up with a mosaic of the delta to the coast, to tell a story about our state.”
The dish that won Davis the title of King of Mississippi Seafood has appeared as a special on the City Grocery menu, but Davis plans to include it in an upcoming menu, which will run mid-summer.
“City Grocery is a very lauded and historic restaurant within the state of Mississippi, especially in Oxford,” shared Davis. “It has been around for over 30 years, and I feel very honored to be able to be the chef and be able to put my creative stamp on the menu currently.”
Menus change about every six weeks at the City Grocery, with inspiration from the past and the present. John Currence, chef and owner of City Grocery, has a treasure trove of old cookbooks and old menus of the restaurant.
“Every time I write a new menu, I go through all those old cookbooks and old menus and try to find things that were going on during the same season,” shared Davis. “I’ll look at what they were doing in the summer of 96′ and see if I can put a little spin on it and throw a new technique at it or add in new ingredients and keep everything approachable and tasty.”
Regardless of the seasonal menu, if you visit City Grocery in Oxford, Mississippi, you will be able to get the Shrimp and Grits, the Caesar, and the City Salad. And now, you’ll always find Chef JD’s Mississippi Seafood King crown behind the downstairs bar.
