A Chile-licious Event! GREEN CHILE CHEESEBURGER SMACKDOWN
Photo by Caitlin Jenkins, Simply Social Marc Quiñones of MÁS Tapas y Vino won the Judges' Award and David Sellers of Street Food Institute won the People's Choice Award.
Seven of Santa Fe's finest chefs competed in the sixth annual Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown on September 8. Two innovative iterations on the classic green chile cheeseburger took top honors: MÁS Tapas y Vino won the Judges' Award to become the Reigning Chomp, and Street Food Institute won the People's Choice Award for the second year in a row. As always, this year’s competition was open to any willing New Mexico restaurant. The eight finalists were: David Sellers of Street Food Institute, Marc Quiñones of MÁS Tapas y Vino at Hotel Andaluz, Jen and Evan Doughty of The Palace Restaurant and Saloon, Milton Villarrubia III of Second Street Brewery, Shane Alexander of El Farol, Marie Yniguez of Bocadillos, and David Ruiz of Toltec Brewing. The Smackdown grew the Loyal to Local Program, in which farmers and ranchers sponsor individual finalists to help offset the cost of providing samples at the event. Eleven producers donated to the chefs: Ranney Ranch, Peculiar Farms, El Morro Valley Ranch, Beck & Bulow, Silver Leaf Farms, Romero Farms, Wagner Farms, Young Guns Produce, Southwest Heritage Mills, Harris Ranch, Shamrock, and Bueno Foods. Each winning chef took home a $500 prize, and edible made a $750 donation to both Cooking with Kids and the Southwest Grassfed Livestock Alliance. Quiñones, executive chef of MÁS Tapas y Vino, said, “I’ve been blessed to be able to compete in competitions all over the country, literally from coast to coast. And without taking longer than a split second to think about it, I can easily say that the Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown is my favorite event to participate in! There’s nothing more symbolic of the great state of New Mexico than a green 74
edible Santa Fe | FALL 2018
chile cheeseburger, and to be named the Reigning Chomp is a significant honor that me and my team are extra proud of! I love calling New Mexico my home and the people of our communities are what make it extra special.” Sellers, executive chef of Street Food Institute, recounted, “I told my team before the Smackdown the way to win this event is to come to the table with the best cooked burgers, juicy and well seasoned. They worked together as a strong team and turned out what we needed to win. I am so proud of them!" “We were thrilled with the new venue this year and look forward to making The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing our permanent home,” Stephanie Cameron, the event’s producer, said. “We also want to give a special shout out to all the local grassfed ranchers, Ranney Ranch, El Morro Valley Ranch, Beck & Bulow, and Peculiar Farms, who supplied meat to four of this year’s competitors. They made our event that much more meaningful when we are trying to educate consumers on their local foodshed.” Edible thanks all our supporters, attendees, volunteers, and partners, including Tourism Santa Fe, Simply Santa Fe, Santa Fe Brewing Co., Bueno Foods, Young Guns Produce, La Montañita Co-op, and countless others who helped make this event a success. In particular, we want to thank all the restaurants and chefs for their efforts in showcasing the green chile cheeseburger. Without them, we wouldn’t have a reason to celebrate. See you again on September 7, 2019, at this chile-licious event.