Mountaire Chickin' Pickin' Championship
Saturday, April 17th @ Winter Place Park in Salisbury, MD

Mountaire Farms is proud to announce a date has been set for the the Inaugural Chickin' Pickin' Championship, to be held in conjunction with the 7th Annual Pork in the Park Festival this Spring.  Birthplace of the broiler industry, the Delmarva Peninsula is known for its chicken, so it's only natural a competition of this variety and of this magnitude be held here.  After months of planning, the details for the Mountaire Chickin' Pickin' Championship at Pork in the Park, at Winter Place Park have been finalized and we are now in the process of searching for Delmarva's BEST Pickers to participate in the event for a chance to be crowned Mountaire's Chickin' Pickin' Champ and win $500 in cash and other great prizes...

What is Mountaire Chickin' Pickin'?  It's a contest of strategy, speed and skill.  We are looking to find the person who can pick and shred the most meat from our whole cooked chicken(s) in a 5 minute time frame.  Each contestant will have 4.5 lbs oven roasted 'birds available to them, from which they will have to pick and shred all the meat and skin from the breast, thighs, legs, wings and back, meaning you can't grab it by the handful, contestants need to actually pick and shred the meat as if it where going on a sandwich.  All the meat picked goes into the contestants meat tray which will be weighed at competitions end to determine our winner.  A contest judge will determine when a contestants 'bird is fully picked, at which point they will hand over a fresh bird for picking.  This process will go on for the entire (5) minutes. This is a competition of speed and skill, there can be zero bones in the meat tray and fresh birds WILL NOT be provided until all areas of the current bird are picked clean of meat.  For those of you who are curious, the average person can pick (1) bird clean in approx. :90 seconds.  A sample "picked" bird will be on display so contestants and on-lookers know the standard to shoot for.    

This inaugural event will feature 20 total contestants, competeing on a grand stage in front of thousands of on-lookers.  To become a contestant you need to fill out and send in the application form (click here).15 lucky individuals will be selected prior to the event based on the submitted applications and the remaining 5 will be chosen on the day of the event from the crowd.    

The contest itself will consist of (4) Preliminary Heats beginning at noon, which will occur in (:30) minute intervals with all heats wrapping up by 2pm. Each heat will have (5) contestants "Picking" it out, with the winners from each advancing to the finals.  Our (4) finalists will then compete for cash and other prizes at 6pm in the Championship round. From this grand finale one person will win $500 in cash and be crowned Mountaire’s Chicken Pickin’ Champ.  Aside from the cash, our winner will receive a Golden Toned Chickin' Pickin' Belt Buckle on a commemorative plaque.  2^nd place will receive a Silver Toned Chickin' Pickin' Belt Buckle and T- Shirt and 3^rd place will receive the Bronze Toned Chickin' Pickin' Belt Buckle and T-Shirt.

Our oven roasted Mountaire chickens will be prepared by the Georgia House Restuarants, who will be present at the event serving BBQ chicken dishes from their catering truck just off the Chickin' Pickin' stage.  With plenty to eat, rides for the kids and exhibits for adults, the Pork in the Park Festival is a great time had by all, so check it out and be sure to come on Saturday to take in the one of a kind Mountaire Chickin' Pickin' Championship. 

Please e-mail any questions to Roger Marino at rmarino@mountaire.com