Contest Winner

Annual Family Burger Contest

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Four teams and four junior cooks competed for the titles this year at our Ninth Annual Family Burger Contest. We had so much fun and there was so much food! Keep reading to find out who won this year.

We are proud parents, parents-in-love, and grandparents!
Rod and I with our precious grands.

How it started

My husband’s love language is time spent with him. As our family has grown and spread out, it is a greater challenge to get them all together. He knows our boys are very competitive. He decided the way to get them all home for Father’s Day was to create a contest, and the family burger contest was born. It has evolved over the last nine years. We hold it the weekend before Father’s Day to accommodate recruiting judges that have their own dads with whom to spend the holiday.

We never dreamed that it would become such a big deal for our family. It marks the beginning of our summer but the plans start much earlier. In January, competitors start researching flavor profiles, cooking techniques, and creating secret Pinterest boards. We have a waiting list of individuals wanting to judge the competition.

The contest

Originally, we all created our own burgers. When our sons got married, we changed it to a team competition so the judges didn’t have to eat quite so much. Our niece and her husband started as judges but after about five years, we decided to invite them to be competitors.

The rules are basic and simple: make a more delicious burger than anyone else. However, in recent years, my husband has decided he get to add twists as if we were a Food Network show. This year’s twist required that a non-tomato fruit was a required component in each burger. Creativity kicked in and burgers included peaches, figs, watermelon, and apples.

Burgers are judged on creativity, presentation and taste. Only the burgers are considered in the taste and creativity categories but sides can be added to enhance the presentation. We have at least one new judge every year so there is no comfort zone with knowing what the judges want. Our only clue is food allergies and strong food dislikes to avoid.

The next generation joins the contest

When our oldest granddaughter was three, she decided she wanted to compete. She has created a burger almost every year since. Our kids competition grew to four young chefs this years and their only rule was the burger had to be made of ground meat.

Grand-niece Lavanna, Granddaughters Nora and Ilona, Grand-nephew Corey

They excelled in creativity! A common theme was adapting favorite foods into burgers like a Breakfast Mashup Burger, a Pepperoni Pizza Burger, a Shish-kebab Burger, and a Spaghetti Burger. Keep reading to find out who won.

The team burgers

The Fried Cheese and Grilled Peach Burger was a beef patty topped with a fried mozzarella cheese patty and grilled peach slices basted with honey and basil. It was then drizzled with balsamic glaze and topped with fresh basil leaves. All on a buttered and toasted brioche bun. Served with a peach Frappuccino. Created by Rod and Pam.
The Northwest Cosmic Cherry Pork Burger was a cold-smoked pork loin patty ground with fresh roasted garlic. Topped with a Rainier Cherry and Cosmic Crisp Apple slaw served on a grilled ciabatta bun. Created by Patrick and Breeze.
The Kitchen Sink Burger was a veal patty mixed with bread crumbs, egg, pesto, Parmesan, and Tabasco sauce. The bun was toasted and the top spread with Dijon mustard and the bottom with herbed sour cream. The burger was topped with sliced rounds of watermelon, fennel fronds, and lime juice. Created by Ryan and Emily.
The Moo Baa LaLaLa Burger Slider was an Umami seasoned beef patty on a toasted pretzel bun with Gorgonzola cheese sauce, tomato, and arugula topped with a bacon/fig/pork-belly drip jam. Served with bread cubes and more Gorgonzola cheese sauce. Created by Jordan and Angela.

The kid burgers

Nora created the Breakfast Mashup Burger was a beef patty on a buttered and grilled brioche bun topped with roasted peaches basted with honey. It was served with a Peanut Butter Nutella Greek Yogurt Smoothie.
Ilona’s burger was a Pepperoni Pizza Burger was a beef patty on a toasted brioche bun with pizza sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. It was served with Mini Banana Milkshakes.
Corey made the Shish-Kebab Burger was a beef patty on a burger bun topped with roasted veggies (that he chopped on his own and roasted with supervision) and teriyaki sauce.
Lavanna’s creation was the Spaghetti Burger was a beef patty on a toasted Everything bun spread with garlic butter. It was topped with marinara sauce, spaghetti pasta, and Parmesan cheese.

And the winners of each contest were…

Jordan and Angela celebrated the victory of the Moo Baa Lalala burger with a high five and a kiss.
Corey’s Shish-Kebab Burger won in the kids’ competition.

We hope our family fun will inspire you! Create a contest or event that draws your family home. It doesn’t have to be burgers. Other ideas for competitions/food festivals include create-your-own pizzas, ice cream sundaes, hot dogs, or a fishing derby followed by a fish fry. If your family doesn’t enjoy competitions, you can try a cookie exchange or an annual potluck and game day. The ideas are limited only by your imagination. We find our contest brings all together mid-year between the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday rotation.

I would love to hear about your family competition/celebrations that brings everyone home.

Thank you for letting me share my heart for home and family with you!

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