CULLMAN, Ala. – The Cullman Lions Club on Friday proclaimed Matthew Howell “King of the Kitchen” for the 2019 Cullman County Fair. Winning the fair competition is good enough on its own, but all the more impressive when you realize that Howell is 12 years old and was competing in an adult category, even though he had the option of entering as a youth.
And the competition was not even very close. Lion Don Smith explained that Howell finished with a score of 85, with second place well behind at 75.
Proud mom Monica Howell, herself a former Queen of the Kitchen, told The Tribune, “I’m very excited for Matthew. He worked very hard. I was proud of him, because I had gone to town to bring some other stuff to the fair with another son. And he stayed home, and he made his coconut pie, and he made his banana muffins, and he made his fudge to show me. Then, the rest of the day he worked in making his two kinds of cookies and another cake, and then he had to make breads, too. He made cinnamon rolls and bread, and he worked hard to do it. I must say he did it all himself, so I was really proud.”
She smiled, “He was competing against his older brother, who’s done this a couple of years now, really hoping to win. So, it was kind of a shock when Matthew won and his older brother didn’t, but we’re very happy for him, very grateful.”
Matthew Howell took the high road and kept things classy by declining to comment on his victory over a family member. He told The Tribune coconut cream pie, like the one he entered, is his favorite dish to make.
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