The Vancouver Foodster Mac & Cheese Challenge was a huge success featuring 10 mac & cheese creations from restaurants around Vancouver. Each restaurant featured their mac & cheese from March 20-April 10, 2014. This was the first time that we added a media judging panel to determine the ultimate winners of the challenge, and this was quite the task as each judge who tasted each creation with a rigorous process based on taste, originality/uniqueness and presentation/appearance.
Our Media judges for this challenge were: Cassandra Anderton, Sean Neild, Thor Diakow and Sherman Chan.
The Winners are:
1st Place: Tony’s Northern Italian Macaroni & Cheese
Kessel & March
Saffron & Truffle Macaroni & Parmesan Cheese
Created by: Chef Tony Marzo
109-1701 Powell Street Vancouver
Tel: (604) 874-1196
Web: http://www.kesselandmarch.com/
Twitter: @KesselandMarch
2nd Place: S-Mac Cheese
Seventeen 89 Restaurant
Description:Classic Carbonara Meets Spicy Chorizo Mac Cheese
Created by:Chef Daryle Nagata
Seventeen 89 Restaurant
1789 Comox Street, Vancouver
Tel:604.428.0705
Web: http://www.1789.ca/
Twitter: @1789Restaurant
3rd Place: Hoisin Duck Confit Mac & Cheese
Gramercy Grill
White cheddar Macaroni & Cheese with a topping of five spice, star anise, hoisin duck confit with green onion
Created by: Chef Dennis Huang
Available: Nightly after 5pm
Gramercy Grill
2685 Arbutus Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-730-5666
Web: http://www.gramercygrill.ca/
Twitter: @gramercygrill
In the People’s Choice Awards category, the public who tried the Mac & Cheese dishes were the ones who had the opportunity to cast their vote throughout the challenge.
The Winners are:
1st Place People’s Choice:
I HARDT Mac & Cheese
Meinhardt
3002 Granville Street
Tel: 604-732-4405
Web: http://www.meinhardt.com/
2nd Place People’s Choice:
Smoked Mushroom and Truffle Macaroni
Graze Vegetarian Restaurant
980 Fraser St., Vancouver
Tel: (604) 620-8822
Web: http://grazerestaurant.ca/
Twitter: @grazevegetarian
3rd Place People’s Choice:
Stewie’s Cheesey Adventure
Burgundy Restaurant
47 West Hastings Street
Tel: (604) 428-4100
Web: http://www.burgundyvancouver.com/
Twitter: @BurgundyVan
Thank you to all the chefs and restaurants that accepted my invitation and featured their mac & cheese on the menu for the past few weeks during this challenge.
I encourage you to visit the winning restaurants to try their mac & cheese! See all the 10 Mac & Cheese entries here.
By: Richard Wolak