September 24, 2010 - Jaeger Stoltz, a Seattle hair stylist, took home the $100,000 grand prize at the 20th Annual Sutter Home Build a Better Burger National Recipe Contest and Cook-Off®. The cook-off was held at CollinsPark on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, Florida, on Thursday, September 23rd. His recipe for Strawberry BBQ Bacon Burgers was one of about 7,000 recipes received. Growing up in Seattle, one of Stoltz’s first jobs was picking strawberries at a local farm.
Contest judge and co-author of Burger Parties Chef Jeffrey Starr called Stoltz's burger “delightfully surprising” and said his use of strawberries in the sauce was “delicious and creative.”
The 2010 roster of judges included head judge and prolific cook book author James McNair; Daisy Martinez, host of Viva Daisy! on The Food Network; Steve McDonough and Dan Smith, aka The Hearty Boys, hosts of several shows on The Food Network; Lucy Buffett, cookbook author and owner of LuLu’s at Homeport Marina and Fran Carpentier, senior editor of Parade Magazine.
In the alternative burger category, Gina Haase from Wallington,N.J., won $15,000 for her Lucky Tiki Sliders. Haase, who is a fan of everything tiki, based her sliders on the flavors found in her favorite Chinese dumplings.
McNair called Haase’s burgers “a party in my hand. They were festive, fun and scrumptious.”
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For a wealth of information about Sutter Home’s Build a Better Burger, including rules and burger and wine pairings, visit www.sutterhome.com.
