The annual Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits Festival is a quintessentially Southern, one-of-a-kind tradition celebrating one of Georgia’s most-beloved dishes: shrimp and grits. The 2016 festival will take place September 16-18 and, to make this year’s celebration even bigger and better, Jekyll Island has partnered with Georgia Tourism to select chefs from top restaurants around the state to battle it out in a professional cooking competition for the title of “Georgia’s Best Shrimp & Grits.”

Additionally, the winner will receive a $2,000 cash prize, the chance to cook his or her winning dish for Governor and Mrs. Deal, and the right to defend the title for 2017.

This year’s panel of judges includes Jennifer Hill Booker, executive chef and Culinary Explorer for Explore Georgia; Rebecca Lang, food writer and contributor for Southern Living; and Henna Bakshi, CNN/HLN culinary journalist and producer.

Vote for Your Favorite Chef

But, before they get to the festival, they have to win the first round of competition.

From the Northeast Georgia Mountains to the Magnolia Midlands, help your favorite area restaurants qualify for the final round. Online voting for the top restaurant from each region of Georgia begins at 9 a.m., Friday, August 12. Cast your ballot indicating your favorite restaurant from each region. Voters may cast a ballot a once daily.

Voting concludes Friday, August 19, at 5 p.m. In each region, the restaurant with the most votes will be named regional champion. These top chefs will then head to the Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits Festival to compete against each other in the professional cooking competition Sunday, September 18, at 11 a.m.

Show some love for your favorite restaurants and vote!

Be sure to head to Jekyll Island during the Shrimp & Grits Festival to cheer them to victory. To learn more about the music, food, and fun of this year’s festival, including the newly announced Southern Living Biscuits and Jam concert featuring Grammy-nominated country music artist David Nail, visit www.jekyllisland.com/shrimpgrits.

From the Georgia Department of Economic Development: Georgia.org.