Inspiration in the Kitchen: ALFA Farmers Celebrity Chef Stage Lineup

August 11, 2026

Special Feature

Need some inspiration in the kitchen? The Celebrate the Family Expo brought to you by White Lily will once again welcome Alabama chefs onto the ALFA Farmers Celebrity Chef Stage hosted by Janice Rogers of WBRC 6 News. Five chefs will share some of their favorite recipes with the audience, answer questions, and share samples! You don’t want to miss it. Here is a peek at the incredible lineup of chefs.

To kick off the day on the ALFA Farmers Celebrity Chef Stage, Debbie Goldsmith of the Lil Boogie Foodie will be creating one of her famous “Bougie Burgers” from scratch. Goldsmith is a brain tumor survivor who turned her battle with dysphagia into a food truck business. She struggled for several years with not being able to eat and her love for food led her to opening her own business in the food industry. She provides savory and tasty meals for customers wanting to wake up their taste buds! Her culinary career began as a child in Jamaica where she prepared Caribbean cuisines for her family at just eight years old. She has always enjoyed cooking and viewed eating delicious meals as the gateway to happiness and as a result she is sharing that happiness with the world one customer at a time. You can more than sample her delicious food at the Expo. The Lil Bougie Foodie truck will be at the Expo entrance where you can purchase a meal or a snack.

At 11 a.m., catch Karah Skinner of Rock House Farms on the ALFA Farmers Celebrity Chef Stage. Skinner is a first-generation cattle farmer, wife, homeschooling mom, and the creator behind Rock House Farms, where she shares simple family recipes, life on the farm, and encouragement with more than 75,000 followers across social media. What began as a way to market her family’s farm has grown into a passion for helping families feel confident in the kitchen while celebrating the people who grow our food. As a Sweet Grown Alabama ambassador, Skinner enjoys highlighting fresh, locally grown ingredients and creating approachable recipes that anyone can make. Whether she’s preparing a weeknight dinner or sharing life from the pasture, her goal is to inspire others to gather around the table, support local agriculture, and enjoy the blessings found in everyday moments. Her journey in the kitchen began with her mother and grandmother, who taught her that sharing a meal is one of the simplest ways to care for the people you love. While she always enjoyed cooking, her passion for it truly grew after she married and started raising a family. Read about how her faith has impacted her as a wife, mom and business woman in the August issue of Birmingham Christian Family(BCF).

Stephen Ritchey of Christo’s Confections will be on the ALFA Farmers Celebrity Chef Stage at 11:45 a.m. Ritchey is the owner and chocolatier at Christo’s Confections, Birmingham’s local supplier of handcrafted artisan chocolates, truffles, caramels, and other gourmet goodies. When Ritchey was in the fifth grade, his teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. Without hesitation, he answered, “I want to own a chocolate shop.” Chocolate made him happy, and he couldn’t imagine a better career than bringing that same joy to others. Ritchey continued to pursue his dream over the next fifteen years, earning a bachelor’s degree in business management and a minor in Entrepreneurship at UAB while also attending culinary school at Jefferson State for Baking and Pastry Arts. After graduation, he was asked to develop a dessert menu and serve as the Dessert Chef for Scuola Pizza in Gainesville, Florida. Eventually, Stephen returned home to Birmingham, and his fifth grade dream finally came true when Christo’s Confections – named after his father, Christopher – opened in 2024. Today, Christo’s Confections’ handcrafted sweets have been enjoyed by thousands of chocolate lovers across the United States, Canada, South America, and Europe. Ritchey’s vision remains the same as it was in fifth grade – to make people happy, one bite of handcrafted artisan chocolate at a time.

At 12:30 p.m., author, social media sensation, and BCF contributor Danna Standridge will be on the ALFA Farmers Celebrity Chef Stage. Standridge is a Southern spark with a storyteller’s soul and a rolling pin in her hand. Whether she’s showing how to whip up biscuits or visiting with her 144,000+ Facebook followers (she calls them her FB family), or checking on the cows on Standridge Farm, Standridge blends warmth, wit, and creativity like a perfect Sunday supper. She’s the cookbook author of What’s Cooking with Danna, Y’all, Time to Eat, Y’all and Happiness is Homemade, Y’all, a culinary teacher with heart, and a hostess of heritage- where every dish tells a story, and every story comes with a smile. Equal parts charm and know-how, she makes you feel like family before the cornbread’s even done. Click here to read her faith story. We are also privileged to have her share a great story and recipe every month in the “Home Front” section of Birmingham Christian Family magazine.

Beloved Southern cook Brenda Gantt will be on the ALFA Farmers Celebrity Chef Stage at 1:15 p.m. Gantt became a social media sensation during 2020 when she began posting videos of herself cooking Southern cuisine in her kitchen in Andalusia, Ala. What started as a video for some of her church family wanting to know how to make biscuits quickly went viral. She is known for her delicious recipes, including biscuits, lacy cornbread, and tomato pie. Gantt is the author of several cookbooks: It’s Gonna Be Good Y’all, Linger Around the Table Y’all, and Live Each Little Moment Y’all plus The Southern Mirror coffee table book. In addition, Gantt runs The Cottle House Bed and Breakfast in Andalusia. Whether she is recording a cooking video or talking with her nearly 5 million followers on Facebook @CookingWithBrenda Gantt, Gantt strives to share the love of Jesus. “I always bring some Scripture into my videos… I follow God’s lead and give what I can,” Gantt said. Learn more about how her faith has impacted her life here. At the Expo, you can meet Gantt, grab a copy of her latest book, and watch her make fried apple pies on the ALFA Farmers Celebrity Chef Stage.