Delicious chowder waits to be sampled at the Clam Chowder Cook-Off & Festival
Each year, hundreds of fans flock to Santa Cruz to sample clam chowder for a good cause. The Clam Chowder Cook-Off and Festival – one of the most popular events in town - is also an important fund-raiser for the City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Department. And the judges who serve at the Clam Chowder Cook-Off and Festival each year at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk are a tough lot – especially those assigned to taste the Boston Clam Chowder division with its creamy, buttery base. They tuck in their napkins, square their shoulders to the task and taste as many as 12 different versions of this classic American dish. Once those scores are tabulated, a taste off can occur among finalist chowders, which means even more spoonfuls to sample before a winner is selected. As many as twenty-five different judges are needed to sample their way through the corporate, private and professional entries that make up both Boston and Manhattan Clam Chowder divisions.
Before the judges are cloistered in their tasting chambers, they spend an hour touring the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk – home to the Clam Chowder Cook-Off and Festival for the past three decades – where clam chowder teams have assembled, to determine the winner of the “Most Original Team” award for the best booth, costumes and overall ambiance. Then they hunker down with their spoons and the hard work begins.
Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing gets creative with their booth
There are several tasting strategies the general public adopts at the Clam Chowder Cook-Off and Festival since you can’t possibly taste them all — there are close to a hundred different entries. One popular strategy is to sample the wares from past winners, which means the wait can be rather long. The other is to randomly select where to taste, which is what Salinas residents Jamie, Rachel, Cassie and David like to do.
“We usually taste the Boston-style chowder,” said Rachel, who’s attended the festival for the past three years, “but we’re really liking this Manhattan version. I like to taste the ones the kids make,” she added as the four of them feasted on chowder from Cabrillo College’s Culinary Cooking Team booth.
Delicious clams waiting to be added to chowder
Click here to listen to the Clam Chowder Cook-Off Festival song!
Their instincts turned out to be right on the money, as Cabrillo’s teams won first place for Boston Clam Chowder and second place for Manhattan style in the restaurant divisions at the 2011 festival.
After the family finished tasting a few more chowders, Cassie and David, the younger generation, couldn’t wait to go on the Hurricane ride at the Boardwalk – they loved the fact that it was fast, steep and twisty. Jamie and Rachel thought the slow and restful Ferris wheel might be more their style after all that chowder.
Whatever your speed, mark your calendars for the 2012 Clam Chowder Cook-Off & Festival, taking place on Sunday, February 26, 2012 at the legendary Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk – and don’t forget your spoon!
