BIG CROWD, GREAT (local) FOOD & BEVERAGES BIG IMPACT
#BiggerTogether
WINDSOR – For the 33rd consecutive year hundreds of people and dozens of organizations across the community came together to make the Battle of the Hors D’Oeuvres a BIG!! success.
2019 Food Battlers
The nearly 600 people who packed the Augustus Ballroom at Caesars Windsor – our Presenting Sponsor; enjoyed the opportunity to sample some of the best food and beverage that our community has to offer in one of the BIGGEST!! food competitions in Windsor-Essex.
Becky Parent, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Windsor Essex talked about the breadth of the stakeholder engagement for the event: ”Battle of the Hors D’Oeuvres is our Biggest fundraiser of the year, the proceeds of the event support over 800 children in our region with impactful mentorship services. It was amazing to once again see the community come together through this incredible event and re-invest in the children of our region.”
In addition to the nearly 600 attendees, there were 19 food and beverage Battlers who donated time and product to make the event a reality. There were dozens of sponsors who supported the event as well.
Kieran McKenzie Director of Development and Donor Relations for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Windsor Essex talked about how “Battle is a galvanizing community event that showcases so many positive aspects of what we, as a community are about. In this case we leveraged our amazing culinary scene to support our work at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Windsor Essex. I am consistently amazed at the way in which we come together in our region, supporting each other to achieve great things like igniting potential in our young people.”
THANK YOU TO OUR BEVERAGE BATTLERS
This year’s Battle event introduced a Beverage Battle for the first time in the event’s 33 year history. Six of the best Craft Beer and Wine producers of the Windsor-Essex region competed for the Big Mentorship Cup. Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery took home the hardware but the competition was hotly contested with Chapter Two Brewing Company, the Pelee Island Winery, Brew Microbrewery,
2019 Beverage Battlers
Walkerville Brewery and Frank Brewing Company rounding out an incredible field of Beverage Battlers.
The event also got a new look and some new hardware for the Food Battle champions to take home. The Food Battle is split into 2 competitions, there is a Critics Choice Award as well as a People’s Choice Award. The Food Battlers are split into 2 categories, Restaurant or Epicurean (Epicureans are essentially any non-restaurant food centered organization).
There was strong consensus that collectively this was the best Food Battle in the event’s 33 year history with some of the best food organizations in the region entering the competition.
Smashed Apple-a previous winner of Battle of the Hors D’Oeuvres won the Critic’s Choice award for Best Epicurean, while the Legends Sports Bar (Caesars Windsor) won Critic’s Choice best Restaurant. The Unemployed Help Centre won the Big Mentorship Board as the People’s Choice Food Battle Champion.
The STACKED field of Food Battlers also included Mazaar Lebanese Cuisine, Parkside Grille (Rochester Place Resort), Antonino’s Original Pizza, The Cortina Gourmet Market, River’s Edge Tap & Table, Mezzo Ristorante, The Hub, The Grove Brewhouse and Joyful Lynne’s Kitchen.
There was a terrific mix of returning and new attendees and battlers – the broad consensus from everyone that the 33rd annual Battle of the Hors D’Oeuvres was a night to remember…and you can bet that plans to make the 34th annual Battle of the Hors D’Oeuvres the best one ever is already in the works.