Update: Here are the results.
Soup’s On- November 18, 2016- Results
Approximately 450 attendees.
$4,300 raised for the Gathering Place.
20 Competitors
Shoeless Joe’s
Opera Bakery Café
Greco's Pizza & Pasta (Algonquin)
St. Louis Wings
Cecil's Brewhouse & Kitchen
Widdifield Secondary School Hospitality Program
Casey’s Grill Bar
Farina
Homestyle Café
Chartwell Barclay House Retirement Residence
Zack’s Corner Restaurant
Urban Café
TW Foods
École secondaire catholique Algonquin
Ivan’s Restaurant
Churchill’s
Average Joe’s
The Miner’s Son
Orchards Fresh Food Market
Wacky Wings
Judges’ Choice for Best Soup
Non-Commercial Kitchen: Chartwell Barclay House Retirement Residence -Roasted Garlic & Ale Soup
Commercial Kitchen: Wacky Wings -Bacon Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Golden Ladle Award (Peoples’ Choice)
Non-Commercial Kitchen: Widdifield Secondary School Hospitality Program -Rustic Vegetable & Bean Soup
Commercial Kitchen: Cecil’s Brewhouse & Kitchen -Nipissing Lager Lobster Bisque
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John Lechlitner doesn’t think he has home field advantage in this bowl game.
But Lechlitner isn’t talking about football he’s talking about soup in a bowl.
The owner/operator of the Grande Event Centre hosted the second annual Soup’s On competition at the new banquet hall which opened in the spring.
Close to twenty vendors had their soups tasted and judged, including Lechlitner’s Cecil’s Kitchen next door to the Grande Event Centre, which brewed up a lobster bisque.
“We’ve got great chefs, they love this kind of competition, they collaborate and always come up with something different every year, this year they are doing a lobster bisque using our Nipissing Lager in it so it’ s a little twist on a lobster bisque and I tried it this morning before it came out and I think it’s really good but of course I’m biased,” he said.
The event is a key fundraiser for the Gathering Place. Dennis Chippa, Executive Director of the Gathering Place, says they are thrilled with Friday’s turnout.
“Like any fundraiser you hope that people show and the community as always comes through and it’s just an amazing turnout and we aren’t even an hour in,” noted Chippa around 11:45 this morning for the event which wrapped up a 2 p.m.
“There’s some amazing stuff, there’s a real mixture. There’s two or three with a seafood theme and there are a lot of soups that are using ingredients like squash and pumpkin and things like that which I think is amazing,” added Chippa.
Lechlitner says the competition for the best tasting soup is exciting but it’s not the priority.
“We always like to be competitive with our soup but I think from what I’m hearing and talking to people, there’s lots of good soups and it’s not about who has the best soup, it’s about raising money,” said Lechlitner.
“It’s about Volunteerism, and helping out the Gathering Place.”
Chippa believes connecting with the community also gives them a chance to explain how the Gathering Place works.
“We are able to talk to all kinds of folks about what we do,” said Chippa.
“There’s still a lot of people who wonder what we do, who we serve, how can we help, and things like that and especially as we move towards the new building people are asking about how they can help with that, how they can help with volunteering, can they donate, things like that.”
