First United Food Bank Board Member, Brian West, has been a fan of FOX’s MasterChef cooking competition show since it premiered in 2010.
When he picked his favorite contestant for the first season, Whitney Miller, he didn’t know that she would go on to take first prize despite being the youngest person on the show.
So, when the board was brainstorming new chefs to bring in for the annual Food Bank fundraiser, For the Love of Food dinner Feb. 15, West submitted Miller’s name.
“Whitney had made a name for herself from the TV show and I have always been a fan of the show,” West said. “She is just a sweet country girl that has all the right values.”
“It just sounds like such a good event,” Miller said. “I like to use my cooking talents in any way that I can, especially for charity events.”
Miller has done charity events for organizations such as the American Heart Association and the Multiple Sclerosis Association.
Not realizing that Plant City was the winter strawberry capital of the world until talking with board members and event organizers, Miller decided to choose her strawberry creamed-filled cupcakes as the showcase dish and the dessert. Miller will also be doing a demonstration on how to make strawberry snacks. The cupcakes are featured on the cover of her cookbook, “Modern Hospitality.”
Also on the menu is her bacon-wrapped sirloin steak, buttermilk pan-fried chicken, creamy mashed potatoes, carrot soufflé and jalapeno cornbread.
One of her most popular items, the buttermilk pan-fried chicken, has a special story. During a challenge on MasterChef, Miller accidentally dropped the chicken and had to cook another one in just seven minutes.
“I think that’s what made me stand out to the judges,” Miller said. “They thought, ‘Whoa, if she could cook this in seven minutes, then that’s a big deal.’”
Miller said she tried to cook it again at home in seven minutes, but it didn’t turn anywhere close to the miracle she pulled off on the show.
When she was on the show, Miller was a 22-year-old University of Southern Mississippi senior. At the time, her major was dietetics, but she wanted to do more with food and less with the health industry. So, she decided to audition for the show, just two weeks before the casting call.
“I never thought about doing anything with TV, but it I wanted to something in the food industry,” Miller said.
During the month-and-a-half of filming Miller was up against competitors with more experience.
“It was mentally and physically exhausting,” Miller said.
Her hardest challenge was to make a chocolate soufflé during a pressure challenge between her and another teammate. Whoever lost the challenge would be eliminated. Miller had never made a dessert soufflé, but, before she left for the competition, she memorized several recipes based on challenges she thought she might get. The soufflé was one of them. The rest is history. She won the pressure challenge and stayed in the competition.
Since the competition, Miller has traveled all over the world including China, South Africa and even the Sundance Film Festival, in Utah, to do cooking demonstrations, book signings and charity events.
The 25-year-old will also have a book signing at the United Food Bank Fundraiser.
Since the fundraiser started in 2009, it has increased the number of funds it raises every year. Last year, the dinner raised about $53,000.
The food bank served 477 people last month and remains a charity staple in the Plant City community.
“The numbers are through the roof,” West said. “It’s just a great charity. There are people who come to the food bank who you’d never realize needed help. It’s very sobering.”
FOR THE LOVE OF FOOD
When: Feb. 15; cocktails at 7 p.m., dinner at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Trinkle Center, 1206 N. Park Road
Tickets: $100 per individual, table sponsorships start at $800
Contact: Gail Lyons, 813-659-2185, or Christine Miller, 813-757-9809