Making biscuits is part of Destany Taylor’s workday at the Moulton Jack’s. This week, that skill earned her a company championship, $1,500, and a billboard celebrating her win back home.
Taylor won the 2026 Jack’s Family Restaurants Biscuit Bake-Off Championship in Homewood on Thursday, Oct. 8. Before the competition, she shared that she hoped to use some of the prize money to take her children to the beach.
According to LCtoday’s Facebook coverage, Taylor worked her way through restaurant, area and regional rounds in a competition involving nearly 300 biscuit makers.
The championship was featured live on WBRC’s Good Day Alabama with Jeh Jeh Pruitt.
Taylor told the local outlet she was both nervous and excited ahead of the final round. Her advice to other biscuit makers was simple: “Take your time.”
The annual competition began in 1999, giving the employees behind Jack’s made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuits a chance to receive companywide recognition. Judges evaluate their biscuits on height, diameter, color consistency, appearance and taste.
That work happens early each morning, long before many customers arrive for breakfast. It is also work Jack’s CEO Dana Taylor specifically mentioned when discussing the employees who make the company successful.
“At Jack’s, the leaders I admire know their teams as people, inside and outside of our restaurants,” Taylor said in her 2026 YHN Women of Impact profile. “They’re spotting talent at 4 a.m. when the biscuits go in the oven. They’re celebrating what their teams accomplished.”
For Destany Taylor, Thursday was an opportunity for her own team to do just that. Moulton General Manager Audrey Rampley, Area Supervisor Shawn Scott and Regional Director Karen Cowart traveled to Homewood to cheer her on as she claimed the championship.
Dana Taylor became Jack’s first female CEO following her appointment in December 2025. She previously served as president and chief operating officer.
Her background includes chemical engineering, strategy and finance, but when asked about her proudest accomplishment, she pointed to the people she works with.
“The accomplishment I’m proudest of isn’t a number; it’s the team,” Taylor said.
She also described the satisfaction she finds in seeing employees succeed.
“The real reward is when someone on our team grows into more than they thought they could be,” Taylor said. “Those are my greatest moments.”
Jack’s began as a walk-up hamburger stand in Homewood in 1960. Its Biscuit Bake-Off has become a tradition that recognizes the skill employees bring to its kitchens.
This year’s championship judging panel included Tim Van Doren, known as BamaGrillMaster; comedian and author Landon Bryant; content creators Annaya Chelcy, Chip Ferrell and Alyssa Hall; SoulGrown editor Holly Swafford; Homewood Fire Chief Brandon Broadhead; Homewood Police Corporal Jordan Suggs; and Jack’s Chief Operating Officer Steve Lisner.
Destany Taylor earned a championship trophy and a hometown billboard. Her $1,500 prize could also bring her family a little closer to the beach trip she hoped to take.
Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].
