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Bryson McGlynn, the 12-year-old from Opelika who won season nine of MasterChef Junior, and Troy, Alabama chef Ricky Albright of Iron Fire Cooking joined with the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association (ALBBAA) as a cook team to capture First Place State Finals at the recent State Championship Wild Game Cook-off sponsored by the Alabama Wildlife Federation.
The team, known as the Loosen Your Black Belt Bunch, won by preparing a venison wellington dish designed by McGlynn. Albright, ALBBAA Director Pam Swanner and several members of the organization’s Advisory Council assisted McGlynn during the competition on Saturday, Aug. 10, at AWF headquarters in Millbrook. “To be able to team up with the Alabama Black Belt Adventures team was so much fun,” McGlynn said. “It was an honor to use one of my recipes, but it truly was a group effort and our team worked so well together. Thank you for putting some trust in this recipe. We, as a team, made it a grand slam.”
In April, Loosen Your Black Belt Bunch advanced to the statewide event by winning first place in the Game Division, Best Presentation and Best Overall at the AWF Tri-County Wild Game Cook-Off. The team duplicated their success at the statewide competition by preparing McGlynn’s venison wellington dish.
McGlynn was crowned MasterChef Junior 2024 on the American TV cooking series, which is broadcast on Fox and stars celebrity chef and restaurateur Gordon Ramsay. The notoriety McGlynn gained though the TV show has allowed him to garner a sizeable social media presence.
Albright has also developed a national audience with his Iron Fire Cooking demonstrations on social media.
“I am grateful to God, my family, friends and this amazing team of people who worked hard and tirelessly in the heat to accomplish this amazing win,” Albright said. “It was truly an honor to be a part of the Loosen Your Black Belt team. The significance of this award deeply touches me and takes me back to the days I treasure hunting and cooking with my dad. He is my number one motivator to keep going when it gets tough. I am immensely grateful for this recognition.”
Swanner thanked McGlynn and Albright for their leadership, teamwork and expertise in leading the winning Loosen Your Black Belt Bunch team.
In addition, ALBBAA won Best Presentation at the statewide cook-off for décor at its booth, which included deer mounts, muscadine vines and Iron Fire Cooking’s signature wood-burning contraption with multiple grilling surfaces and a cage to hang meats and a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables.
“As a tourism marketing organization representing a 23-county region of Alabama’s Black Belt, our mission includes the promotion and marketing of hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities, as well as the region’s cultural heritage, the arts, food scene and our storied history,” Swanner said. “Organizing a team for the Alabama Wildlife Federation’s annual cook-offs provides another platform to increase awareness of the hunting and fishing opportunities in our region. These activities are important to the preservation and protection of our natural resources and wildlife, as well as providing a sustainable food source of healthy protein.
“It was an honor to have Bryson and Ricky lead our winning team,” she added. “We can’t thank them enough.”
The Black Belt includes the following 23 counties: Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Crenshaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Russell, Sumter, Tuscaloosa and Wilcox.
