ROCKINGHAM — One of Richmond County’s own has set himself apart in the pantheon of fast food royalty.
Kris Spivey, 19, an assistant manager at the Bojangles’ at 1706 E. Broad Ave. in Rockingham, beat out all Bojangles’ managers to earn the title of Master Biscuit Maker Champion in the company’s annual competition earlier this month. Spivey, who has been in the kitchen for about three years and was promoted to assistant manager about 6 months ago, bested hundreds of managers both older and with more experience at the regional competitions that began in January, according to his manager, Lisa Gardner.
Spivey said he only started taking his cooking skills seriously recently, and up until the day of the competition was still miming the company’s 48-step biscuit recipe on the dresser in his hotel room.
“When I first started I really did not want to be in the kitchen because I knew I couldn’t cook,” Spivey said before Gardner interjected saying, “It came natural to him after that.”
Gardner said that in his relatively short time in the kitchen, Spivey has earned a “fan club” among their regulars that come in the morning Monday through Friday.
“He’s famous with the senior citizens,” she said. “I’m not sure if they know him by name but when they see him back there they know it’s going to be a good biscuit.”
In the final competition, the contestants had to make three trays of 15 biscuits each and they could choose which tray they wanted to represent them. Most competitors went with one of the later two trays, which are thought to be improvements over the first, Spivey said, but he went with his first tray.
“Not many people do that,” he said.
Cliff Cermak, media relations manager for Bojangles’, said the competition proved Spivey is the best biscuit maker of all the company’s managers.
“When we say he is the champion of our managers, he definitely is the best of the best,” Cermak said.
They are judged on the biscuits’ taste, dimensions and appearance. On the Broad Avenue location’s busiest days, Spivey could make 350 biscuits an hour, Gardner estimated. The process involves a great deal of work with one’s hands to mix the flour and then flatten it over and over again, and would wear out most people who tried it for the first time.
“He’s very methodical, he’s got a routine that he does step-by-step in his mind,” said Gardner, who watched him compete at Bojangles’ Restaurant Support Center in Charlotte. “I think he shut everybody out, there were people watching from the corporate office, everybody was there watching and he just shut us out and did his thing like he does (in our kitchen).”
Gardner said that the contestants were each given envelopes with either a red or green card inside, with green meaning the winner. She said when Spivey opened his he didn’t react at all, so they didn’t know who won.
Even after all of the biscuits he makes throughout the week, Spivey said he still comes in to eat on his days off, and Gardner said you can’t tell by looking at him how much Bojangles’ he eats. He said his favorite menu item is the Cajun Club sandwich.
For winning, Spivey won a cash prize along with a $100 gift card to the chain. He also received a trophy, a miniature rolling pin, and other memorabilia. Spivey is double majoring in business administration and accounting at Richmond Community College, and said his current plans are to make a career with the chain.
“He’s going to be my boss one day,” Gardner said.
