Coats Hardee’s Biscuit Maker Wins Top Award in Biscuit Maker Challenge

COATS, N.C. (Feb. 21, 2017) – If the breakfast biscuits baked at the Hardee’s® restaurant at 459 N. McKinley St. taste delicious, that’s because they are made by a Biscuit Maker Champion.

Local Hardee’s biscuit maker Maria Hernandez was named as the 2016 Best Biscuit Maker of Boddie-Noell Enterprises, the largest Hardee’s franchise operator in the nation. Hernandez advanced beyond more than 1,000 other biscuit makers at 338 Hardee’s restaurants across four states to win the overall award.

Contestants in Boddie-Noell’s annual Biscuit Maker Challenge represented Hardee’s restaurants across North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina and Kentucky. In addition to Hernandez, the three best biscuit maker regional winners were Kevin Onyewuche of the Hardee’s on Cedar Road in Chesapeake, Va., Herbert Cromite of the Hardee’s on Crater Road in Petersburg, Va. and Donna Gillespie of the Hardee’s in Richlands, Va.

Boddie-Noell honored the four regional winners and announced Hernandez as the overall winner during a banquet at the company’s Rose Hill Conference Center near Nashville, N.C.

“I feel so excited to be living the American Dream,” said Hernandez, who began her career with Boddie-Noell 16 years ago speaking no English. “I worked hard to learn English and to learn how to make biscuits. I’m so grateful to this company for believing in me.”

Hernandez says the key to creating the best Hardee’s Made from Scratch™ biscuit is to “make them with love.” Her favorite Hardee’s biscuit is the Chicken Filet Biscuit.

“Maria has been with us for 16 years now,” said Andre Jumpp, regional director for Boddie-Noell Enterprises. “She’s always had a knack for biscuits, but over the years she’s learned the procedures and perfected them.”

Hernandez and the three other regional winners will be featured later this year in photos on the in-store tray liners at all Hardee’s restaurants operated by Boddie-Noell.

The competition started in October, and each biscuit maker was evaluated based on the quality of his or her biscuits, knowledge of proper biscuit equipment, cleanliness and care of the biscuit equipment, knowledge and execution of company procedures, grooming and appearance. The competition’s judges included trainers, general managers, district managers, regional directors, vice presidents and other executives in the restaurant division of Boddie-Noell at the five levels of competition.

When she isn’t making biscuits, Hernandez enjoys cooking and spending time with her family. She also enjoys listening to music, especially Bruno Mars.

Hardee’s Made from Scratch™ biscuits, which have been served at Boddie-Noell restaurants since 1977, are a vital part of the restaurant’s menu.

In 2016, Hardee’s restaurants owned and operated by Boddie-Noell used more than 649,000 pounds of biscuit flour, 9,300,000 pounds of biscuit mix, 435,000 pounds of cinnamon raisin biscuit mix and 7,390,000 pounds of buttermilk to make the golden brown biscuits – roughly 4,700 acres of wheat and 444 truckloads of ingredients.

About Boddie-Noell Enterprises

With over 50 years success as a Hardee’s franchisee, family-owned Boddie-Noell is the largest Hardee’s franchise operator in the United States with 338 restaurant locations in four states. The company is based in Rocky Mount, N.C. For more information, visit www.bneinc.com.

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