Hooters News

Miss Hooters beauty pageant to take place in Fort Worth for first time

The 2023 Miss Hooters International Emily Johnson.

Hooters

An international beauty contest will take place in Fort Worth for the first time: It's the 2024 Miss Hooters International Pageant, and it'll go down on Thursday, August 22 at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth.

The event is open to the public for the first time since 2021, and tickets are on sale now.

According to a release, this is the 27th Annual Miss Hooters International Pageant, a high-stakes annual competition featuring 30 of the top Hooters Girls from across the globe, selected from over 18,000 Hooters Girls worldwide, vying for the coveted Miss Hooters International title and $30,000 grand prize.

The pageant promises to be entertaining, from the high-energy choreographed opening number to a swimsuit competition to Q&As with the finalists and judges.

The winner will be featured in Hooters' marketing and promotional campaigns; make media appearances; participate in both domestic and international openings, and attend philanthropic events, including the 2025 Hooters Calendar Tour.

Other awards will be bestowed for titles such as Miss Congeniality, Miss Photogenic, and Miss Fan Favorite. Fans can vote up to 10 times for their favorite until voting concludes on August 21 at 10:59 pm.

There are three locals competing:

Cassidy Welch (Dallas, Texas)
Anna Garrison (Grand Prairie, Texas)
Carielle England (Lewisville, Texas)

But let's give it up for contestant Phoenix-Bleu Leach, coming in from the greatest distance from Nottingham, England.

The pageant begins at 7:30 pm, but doors will open at 6 pm. General Admission tickets are $25, and Premium are $50, which includes reserved seating and two drink tickets, and can be purchased online.

Hooters senior director of marketing Melissa Fry says in a statement that, "We are incredibly proud of all the talented women participating in this year's Miss Hooters International Pageant. Each contestant embodies the spirit and dedication of Hooters, and their hard work and passion shine through in every aspect of the competition. This event is truly worth experiencing in person, as it captures the excitement, glamour, and celebration of our exceptional Hooters Girls. It is an honor to witness their journey and celebrate their achievements on this grand stage."

The complete lineup of contestants is as follows:

Averey Tressler (Anderson, South Carolina)
Ashleigh Meade (Chantilly, Virginia)
Kimi McFarland (Costa Mesa, California)
Sara Vratanina (Daytona Beach, Florida)
Enayyah Musa (Daytona Beach, Florida)
Jah'zahria Iverson (Douglasville, Georgia)
Cassidy Welch (Dallas, Texas)
Anna Garrison (Grand Prairie, Texas)
Macy LeBlanc (Houma, Louisiana)
Gwyn Johnson (Kennesaw, Georgia)
Sabriya Underwood (King of Prussia, Pennsylvania)
Amber Diaz (Kissimmee, Florida)
Holly Diaz (Kissimmee, Florida)
Carielle England (Lewisville, Texas)
Sophia Zullo (Mason, Ohio)
Brittany Winton (Mesa, Arizona)
Alekza Mora (Mexico City, Mexico)
Augustine Plante (Montreal, Canada)
Kendall Calvin (Nashville, Tennessee)
Carolina Mayorga (Norfolk, Virginia)
Phoenix-Bleu Leach (Nottingham, England)
Scarlett Knight (Pearland, Texas)
Aly Vargas (Pensacola Beach, Florida)
Tia Hairston (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Rosa Touch (Rohnert Park, California)
Eliana Valdez (San Marcos, California)
Sarah Magda (Sarasota, Florida)
Crystiana Roig-Guidry (Slidell, Louisiana)
Savannah Wicks (St. Peters, Missouri)
Natasha Vincent (Winnipeg, Canada)

Chef News

Fort Worth's Will Rogers Memorial Center welcomes bright new chef

FortWorthtx.gov

Will Rogers Memorial Center

There's a new chef in town: Waylon Cornelius, named executive chef of catering and concessions for Craft Culinary Concepts, the food and beverage provider at Will Rogers Memorial Center.

Will Rogers Memorial Center is the 120-acre entertainment complex anchoring Fort Worth’s Cultural District, owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth. Cornelius will oversee menus for trade shows and other events at the center which bring in more than 2 million visitors a year.

Craft Culinary Concepts is headquartered in Glendale, Arizona, and manages food and beverage programs for entertainment, sports and cultural facilities.

Chef Waylon Corneliusfortworthtx.gov

According to a release, Cornelius joined the team this summer and is already shifting the expectations of guests from a typical “BBQ and beans” menu to a bill of fare satisfying every kind of palate.

“We always have fajitas ready to go, but we also make a beautiful Beef Wellington or baked salmon with a pink salt crust,” Cornelius says in a statement.

For consumer trade shows, Craft and its partners Caribou and Taco Heads offer more choices for the thousands of guests who attend events at WRMC annually.

“Some of our equestrian guests are away from home and here for several days, and they need more than popcorn and hot dogs,” Cornelius says. “Our concessions offer biscuits and gravy, burritos made in-house, strawberry salad, fruit and yogurt cups.”

A native of Mansfield, Cornelius grew up helping in a farm-to-table kitchen. He was raised on a farm with his mother, grandmother, and grandfather -- a Vietnam veteran who enjoyed vegetable gardens and raising hogs and chickens. He studied computer science after high school and holds an associate's degree in Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis from Tarrant County College.

He's a 2003 graduate of AIMS Academy of Culinary Arts in Dallas where he was mentored by a number of great chefs. While training as assistant executive sous chef at the AAA four-diamond Grand Hyatt DFW, he worked with Executive Chef Sutti Sripolpa, chef Eric Dreyer (who went on to be Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef), and Chef Jean-Claude Plihon, under whom he honed his French cooking skills.

As executive sous chef at the opening of Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille in Southlake, Cornelius gained expertise with volume. While at HG Sply Co., he learned about gluten-free items and other food allergies.

HG Sply is also where he crossed paths with Chef James R. Schell III, Craft’s general manager at WRMC, who recruited Cornelius to the complex.

"James said he needed someone who can hit moving targets, push the culinary team to be more avant-garde and use locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, so here I am," Cornelius says. "Culinary is a small world."

“I want people to say, ‘When we were in Fort Worth, you won’t believe what we got at Will Rogers!’” Schell says. “Even the celebrities who perform [in the auditorium] are surprised. When Chicago played here recently and we served dinner backstage, they said they felt treated like the Rolling Stones.”

chefs

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Fort Worth's Will Rogers Memorial Center welcomes bright new chef