Get a “Taste of Chowdafest”
Starting August 17th, Chowdafest fans will get some keen insight on the all the restaurants participating in the upcoming competition. “We're often asked how restaurants are selected to compete” said Jim Keenan, event director. “Most don't realize Chowdafest is an invite only event. Not just anyone can enter. Each year we have a good idea on who we'd love to invite back each year and we then spend the winter months scouring New England to find great chowders, soups & bisque filling openings with the goal of making the competition even better than the previous year” he added.
The Taste of Chowdafest also includes a :20 to :30 second video made by each restaurant. “I think including a home-made video by each restaurant adds a little flavor to what people can expect at the festival” noted Keenan. “If you see a video with the chef's kids in it, you get a sense for their soup being home made. If you see a clever video, you might realize they're in the creative chowder category. If you see a chef telling you how they're going to win it, you can assume their recipe will have tons of character in it. It's a great way to give fans a little taste of what to expect”.
The 9th annual competition features 40 restaurants representing every New England state with 80% of the restaurants coming from CT. Half of this year's entrants are new to the event.
Chowdafest features four categories of competition with ten restaurants competing in each: Classic New England Clam Chowder, Traditional Chowder exclusively for Rhode Island (clear broth) and Manhattan Clam Chowders (red, tomato based), Creative Chowders and Soup & Bisque. Attendees receive a spoon, ballot and pencil when they arrive. They enjoy unlimited sampling and rate each entry on a scale from 7 to 10.5 with half point intervals. Restaurants with the highest overall average in their respective categories will be declared New England champions.
The restaurants participating in this year's competition include: Beacon Bar & Grill (Groton, CT), The Blind Rhino (Norwalk, CT), The Boathouse (Westport, CT), Boothbay Lobster Co. (Stamford CT), Captain Scott's Lobster Deck (New London, CT), Chef's Table (Fairfield, CT), Chowder Bar (Bay Shore, NY), Clam Castle (Madison, CT), Crab Shell (Stamford, CT), Crave 52 (Fairfield, CT), Dunville's (Westport, CT), Gaffney's (Saratoga Springs, NY), Gaspar's (New London, CT), Geronimo (New Haven, Fairfield CT), Gray Goose (Southport, CT) Harlem Yacht Club (City Island, NY), Hub & Spoke (Bridgeport, CT), Liquid Lunch (Shelton, Milford, CT), Little Barn (Westport, CT), Mediterraneo (Norwalk, CT), Old Post Tavern (Fairfield, CT), Oscar's Woodmont Kitchen (Woodmont, CT), Our House Bistro (Winooski, VT), Parallel Post (Trumbull, CT), Pike Place Chowder (Seattle, WA), Ri Ra Irish Pub (Portsmouth NH, Portland ME), Rory's (Darien, CT), Rowayton Seafood Market (Rowayton, CT), Restaurant at Rowayton Seafood (Rowayton, CT), Rocky Point Clam Shack (Warwick, RI), Sam's American Bistro (Stamford, CT), Scribner's (Woodmont, CT), Sedona Taphouse (Norwalk, CT), Shell & Bones (New Haven, CT), Sign of the Whale (Stamford, CT), Simply Delicious (Norwalk, CT), Smithsonian Chowder House (Northhampton, MA), Sugar & Olives (Norwalk, CT), Tikkaway Grill (New Haven, CT)
For additional information about Chowdafest, please visit www.chowdafest.org or email event director, Jim Keenan at chowdafest@gmail.com
Chowdafest, presented by Stop & Shop, is sponsored by: AAA, Aquafina, Bigelow, BlumShapiro, Cabot Creamery, Chabaso Bakery, City Carting, CT Bites, Dannon, The Farmer's Cow, Frontera Foods, HamletHub, Hotel Zero Degrees, Jersey Italian Gravy, Kids Helping Kids, Local Food Rocks, MasterCard, MINI of Fairfield County, New Milford Farms, Ocean Spray, OmnomCT.com
