Who cooks the best collard greens in Columbus? Your vote will help decide
MercyMed of Columbus announced the date of its third annual Collards Cook-off, according to the organization’s website.
The event will take place Oct. 24, from 4-7 p.m., at MercyMed Farm, 3802 Second Ave.
Keith Sims, lead farmer at MercyMed Farm, said one of the main crops the farm grows is collard greens. The public can try the collards by buying a $5 ticket.
Participants will compete for two awards: the people’s choice award and the farmer’s choice award. Sims said the people’s choice award comes from the public who try the collards and vote for their favorite, while the farmer’s choice consists of the votes from the farmers who grew the crop.
“Collards grow amazing in Columbus, Georgia, during the Spring and the Fall,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer.
The collards of the cooler weather Fall harvest sweeten up, according to Sims.
“They just grow so well here that everybody loves them,” he said. “It’s not the same case the further north you get; the collards don’t have the same cultural impact that they have here.”
Sims spoke about people in the community having a family connection to the crop.
“Throughout the entire community, everybody knows what great collard greens taste like,” he said, “and it’s always their grandmother’s collard greens.”
How many collard plants does MercyMed Farm grow?
Sims said MercyMed Farm grows around a thousand feet of collards. He said they will pick from around 2,000 plants the day of the event.
Some of the collard greens will come from other organic urban farms around the Columbus area, he said.
Sims said he shops at local grocery chains, but he believes collards are better when you know the grower and the effort they put into the crop.
“These will be the best collards that you taste in Columbus because of how they are grown, the passion that went into it, that they’re a part of your community, and then the chefs that cook them learned to cook in this community as well,” he said.
Sims said MercyMed Farm is working with Whit’s Frozen Custard of Columbus to bring back the collard greens custard sold at the cook-off last year. Sims described the custard as a salted caramel custard with a hint of collard greens.
MercyMed Collards Cook-off contestant
Pamela Smith, a Collards Cook-off contestant, told the Ledger-Enquirer she likes seeing the collards grow, harvesting them and cooking them.
She described collards as “good for the winter, good for your heart.”
Smith said her collards are Southern collards, like her grandma used to cook.
The key to cooking collards, Smith said, is getting them clean so they’re not gritty. She uses chicken broth, salt, pepper and butter to begin the cooking.
After the collards start cooking, Smith adds ham hock and a little bit of hot pepper juice. She then tastes them to determine whether the collards need more of an ingredient.
Smith thinks the recipe she uses started with her grandmother and was passed down to Smith through her mother. Smith said she takes pride in the legacy of her family recipe.
“It’s something I can carry on to my grandkids from my grandmother,” Smith said.
In terms of how to serve the collards, Smith said, “Just pull them out of the pot with a little bit of juice, put some hot pepper juice on them, piece of cornbread, you got a whole meal.”
Smith said the competition isn’t all about winning.
“It’s about people enjoying collard greens and everybody coming in together as a community and getting along and eating collard greens,” she said.
This story was originally published October 9, 2025 at 9:48 AM.