Westport, CT – A record crowd of 8,500 gathered to judge the annual Chowdafest competition that featured 38 restaurants from 12 different states, slurping down a record 1,500+ gallons of chowder, soup and bisque in determining which is the best in New England. Awards were won by restaurants from eight different states.
“The voting was extraordinarily close this year versus previous years,” said Jim Keenan, event director. “I expected as much with the invitation of award-winning restaurants from other states. The level of competition was extremely high. In some cases, just a tenth of a point or less determined the winners and only a half point separated the top from the bottom in some categories."
Everyone who attends Chowdafest is a judge and encouraged to rate each entry they try on a scale from 7 to 10 with half pt intervals. “This is a true people's choice event. Winners aren't determined by a food critic but by you and me," said Keenan. Thousands of ballots are then scanned to determine the average rating and the restaurants with the highest rating in each category is declared the winner.
Chowdafest, presented by Stop & Shop, is the largest competition of its kind in New England as no other event represents every New England state, showcases as many restaurants and attracts so many people. Chowdafest also features four separate categories of competition.
The winners of the New England Clam Chowder Category were:
- Pike Place Chowder of Seattle Washington took top honors with a 9.4 average rating beating New England at its own game and taking bragging rights to the west coast.
- Sedona Taphouse of Norwalk CT finished second with an average of 9.1
- Like's Lobster of NYC finished third with a 9.07 rating
- Olio of Stamford just missed the podium with their gluten free new England clam chowder with a 8.97 rating
The winners of the Traditional Clam Chowder Category (Manhattan & RI chowders only) were:
- Dunville's of Westport reclaimed their championship ways for their Manhattan clam chowder with a rating of 8.58, duplicating their 1st place achievement in Chowdafest VI
- Stefano's of Long Beach Island New Jersey finished 2nd with a 8.4 rating for their
7-time LBI Chowderfest award winning Manhattan clam chowder. - GROW, a new farm to family restaurant in Shelton CT took third place with a 8.3 rating.
- This was the first time three Manhattan clam chowders finished 1,2,3. Chef's Table of Fairfield had the highest rated Rhode Island clam chowder, finishing 4th with a 8.29 rating.
The winners of the Creative Chowder Category were:
- Our House Bistro from Winooski VT who entered a fried seafood and sweet potato chowder that garnered them first place with an average rating of 9.39.
- Ri Ra Irish Pub of both New Hampshire and Maine, came in second for their seafood chowder with a rating of 9.02.
- Smithsonian Chowder House of North Hampton MA took 3rd place for their version of seafood chowder earning a 9.0 rating.
- CT was shut out from the award platform for the first time. Octagon Steakhouse of Mystic CT narrowly missed the podium finishing 4th with a 8.94 rating for their award winning surf & turf chowder.
The winners of the Soup/Bisque Cateogry were:
- Simply Delicious of Norwalk with their Creole Clam Bisque with an 8.58 rating. Simply Delicious finished 4th last year by .01 and won the category this year by the same, incredibly close margin.
- Post 154 in Westport narrowly missed tying for top category honors with their golden corn bisque and 8.57 rating.
- Bobby Q's, also of Westport, finished 3rd with their Cowboy Brisket Soup and a 8.54 rating.
- Geronimo of Fairfield finished fourth with their chicken tortilla soup with a 8.38 rating.
This was Chowdafest's first time holding the event at Sherwood Island State Park. "It proved to be the perfect venue we hoped it would be," said Keenan. "Its shoreline location added to our New England chowder vibe and the easy access off the highway and convenient parking helped make the event that much more enjoyable for thousands of people. We were thrilled to showcase one of CT's best parks to so many people who were unfamiliar with it," he said. A date for next year's event at Sherwood has already been set: Oct. 2, 2016.
While expenses are still in the process of being finalized, Keenan reports that they'll provide Community Plates enough to fund at least 100,000 meals for the food insecure, which is another event record. Community Plates is a 501-c3 non-profit organization dedicated to alleviating hunger through the rescue of food from grocery stores, restaurants and farms, then delivers it to the myriad of shelters in need.
Chowdafest also raised $750 for the Friends of Sherwood Island through the sale of muffin tins that were used as sample holders. FOSI is a non-profit group dedicated to supporting and enhancing the state park. "I'm glad we could do something for this worthwhile group," said Keenan. "We could have done more but we ran out of tins. I like the tin holder concept because of its sustainability. People bought two for $5 and got to take them home to use afterward. Plus you can't buy one for under $8 in a store so it was a good deal for all involved."
Chowdafest also set a record for composting over four tons of food waste. "Every year, we get closer to having zero waste. Hopefully next year we'll do even better," he said. The sustainablility efforts were supported by City Carting, which provided receptacles and the carting; New Milford Farms, which composted the waste; Vegware, which supplied the compostable cups and spoons; and Sustainable America of Stamford, which oversaw efforts.
New this year was the handcrafted trophies designed by Shelton artist Wendy Marciano. The nautically themed trophies were made from materials found along the shoreline and displayed in a separate awards tent for all to see during the event. "The chefs really loved them," Keenan said. "The awards will be showcased at competition winners' restaurants as the handcrafted, one-of-a-kind trophies they are for one-of-a-kind chefs."
Chowdafest's other food sampling areas were very popular, too, as attendees sampled Ocean Spray Craisins, a variety of cheese from Cabots Creamery, Italian eats at the Ciao-dafest section, salsa & chips from Taco Mexico in Norwalk along with Tostito's chips & salsas in the ChowdMex section. The Farmer's Cow was busy sampling ice cream and lemonade made from CT farms. Kids of all ages sampled the many flavors of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish. Every restaurant gave out the famous oyster cracker from Westminster Bakery.
Dunkin Donuts was busy sampling fall flavored coffees and munckin treats. Ocean Spray and Aquafina were handing out juices, teas and water to thirsty event goers. Stop & Shop sampled both their New England clam chowder and lobster bisque, demonstrating their soups are restaurant quality. MINI of Fairfield County held a customer appreciation promotion and had 60 MINIs road rallied their way to Chowdafest. It also sponsored the "MINIstrone" tent in the Italian themed Ciao-dafest section.
AAA offered free emergency service to anyone needing it in the parking lot and nearly 25% of everyone who bought a ticket did so with a AAA discount. Courtyard by Marriott had several "stay and chow" customers who spent the weekend and enjoyed Chowdafest. The hotel also hosted several of the out-of-state restaurants. Kid's Helping Kids operated the successful ChowdaKids section, orchestrating fun kids activities. PEZ, headquartered in Orange, CT, was on hand handing out its Halloween dispensers and giving discounts to its visitor center. WEBE 108 promoted the event with on-air ticket giveaways and those who attended were given a free issue of The Beat Magazine which included a wonderful feature on Chowdafest.
"I'd like to thank our incredible restaurants who brought their A game and made this the most competitive competition yet. Thank you to Stop & Shop and all our incredible sponsors, who support this event year after year. But most of all, my thanks goes out to the myriad of volunteers who do so much in helping us make this a record-breaking event. They include the student athletes from Sacred Heart and Fairfield Universities, the Wakeman's Boys and Girls Club, the Service League of Boys from Staples High School, my good friends from the Unitarian Church in Westport, my brothers Mike & Tom and, of course, my wife and daughter who, without their help, our continued success would not be possible," noted Keenan.
For additional information about Chowdafest, please visit www.chowdafest.org or email event director, Jim Keenan at chowdafest@gmail.com