Baker’s chicken salad, Moore’s’ pound cake named best at 2025 Peach Cook-off
Published 10:33 am Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Kinzley Baker won both the youth savory and youth sweet categories of the 2025 Chilton County Peach Cook-off. (BRANDY CHILDRESS | CONTRIBUTED)
Crystal and Shane Moore’s peach pound cake was the top adult sweet dish of the cook-off. (BRANDY CHILDRESS | CONTRIBUTED)
Ostrich eggs, a unique spin on a peach dish, was prepared by Amy Baker. (BRANDY CHILDRESS | CONTRIBUTED)
Trey Calfee and his peach glazed ribs took part in the youth savory category. (BRANDY CHILDRESS | CONTRIBUTED)
Rosa Kiekel’s honey peach cream cheese cupcakes she entered into the youth sweet category of the cook-off. (BRANDY CHILDRESS | CONTRIBUTED)
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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor
The county’s top peach-inspired dishes gathered for the 2025 Chilton County Peach Cook-off on June 14, and in the end, a couple and talented young chef reigned supreme. Crystal and Shane Moore and Kinzley Baker were the winners of the three categories up for grabs in this year’s cook-off. The Moores won the adult sweet category, and Baker won both the savory and sweet categories in the youth division.
This year’s cook-off kicked off the first full day of the 78th annual Chilton County Peach Festival in the morning of June 14 at the Clanton Conference & Performing Arts Center. The day continued with the second day of the 20th annual Peach Jam Jubilee that rocked throughout the day and into the night.
The 2025 Chilton County Peach Cook-off featured both an adult division, ages 19 and up, and a 4-H youth division for ages nine to 18 years old. Each division had a sweet and savory category, but there were no adult savory entrants this year. However, a youth sweet and savory and an adult sweet winner still needed to be crowned.
Baker swept the youth competition with her peachy fruit pizza in the youth sweet category, and her peachy smoked chicken salad took top dish in the youth savory category.
The Moores collaborated together to create the peach pound cake that was named the top dish in the adult sweet category. Crystal and Shane Moore worked together to create the cake, which was a family recipe with a little peach twist added.
“It was something we wanted to do together, and thought it would be a great opportunity for us,” Shane Moore said.
The pound cake has been a Moore family staple for over 20 years as Crystal perfects the cake each time she prepares it. While the cake alone could be award winning, the couple agreed to add a peach icing to the cake that Shane prepared, and that might have been the difference to put the dish over the top.
The Moores have baked together a lot in the past, but this was their first time competing in a cook-off of any kind. Winning in your first try — not bad at all. Winning in your first try, in your home county and in the county’s biggest month — better.
Baker and the Moores were announced as the winners of the cook-off on stage at the Peach Jam in Clanton City Park.
“It is a big accomplishment for us, not only winning the prize, but being a part of the community,” Shane Moore said. “I have been a resident of Chilton County for 47 years, and it has been a blessing to live in such a great community, and to be a part of something like this was great.”
All of the recipes for the dishes at the cook-off were printed inside the event’s pamphlet handed out to attendees. Sponsors of the 2025 Chilton County Peach Cook-off included the City of Clanton, Chilton County Alabama Extension, Clanton Lion’s Club, Clanton Performing Arts Center and Jefferson State Community College.
