People have been curing pork for centuries and using the phrase “bring home the bacon” since the 12th century when an English church offered a side of cured pig meat to any man who could swear that he’d neither fought nor quarreled with his wife for a year and a day. Beer has been a popular adult beverage since the dawn of civilization and is, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. In a stroke of absolute genius, 98.1 The Max radio personalities Drake & Zeke (with some assistance from their production team) came up with the brilliant idea to build a festival around these two tasty treats.
Drake & Zeke
The idea is basically this: Once upon a time people ate bacon with eggs for breakfast. Today it’s used as an ingredient in everything from gourmet entrées to dessert pastries. Drake & Zeke’s Bacon & Beer Festival at Minglewood Hall is a competition to discover the most creative bacon chefs in Memphis. Categories for the competition run the gamut from best appetizer to best cocktail and best dessert. And there will be lots of beer to wash everything down with. Couldn’t be easier.
Drake & Zeke host an annual telethon for Ronald McDonald House every October, and the new Bacon & Beer Festival is an opportunity to start the fund-raising early. The festival is family-oriented with a “pig pen” area for younger kids. Regional bands scheduled to appear include country rocker Rosco Bandana, 2 Mule Plow, Will Tucker, and Charvey McLemore.