Eggs on the Beach Cooking Competition Raises $39,500 for Local Non-Profit Organizations
Bay Breeze Patio event raises $16,250 each for The Fisher House of the Emerald Coast and Food for Thought
Presented by Bay Breeze Patio, the seventh Annual Eggs On the Beach cooking competition raised $39,500 for local non-profit organizations, including its two non-profit partners—Fisher House of the Emerald Coast and Food for Thought. Held at Seascape Resort on October 16, the family-friendly event welcomed more than 600 tasters and volunteers who sampled an array of delicacies cooked on Big Green Eggs by 22 cook teams.
Food For Thought receives $16,250 donation from the owners of Bay Breeze Patio
Due to the large number of tasters and generous sponsors, Food for Thought and the Fisher House of the Emerald Coast each received a $16,250 donation as the result of the 2021 EggFest. Located on Eglin Air Force Base, the Fisher House of the Emerald Coast provides a “home away from home” for military families so they can be together during medical treatment. Food For Thought, which manages food pantries in Santa Rosa Beach and Destin, helps fight food insecurity by providing backpacks filled with healthy, easy to prepare foods for more than 3,000 students each week who are dependent on free or reduced school meals.
“Our seventh annual event was a great success due to our amazing cook teams, volunteers, and sponsors. We really like the new location at Seascape Towne Centre, which provided necessities including a permanent bar with big-screen TVs and permanent restrooms,” said Bay Breeze Patio co-owner and event founder Susan Kiley. “Once again, our cook teams delivered deliciously creative bites, which ranged from shrimp and grits and tuna dip to pork belly, chicken and sausage bites to bananas foster dessert. It was such a fun day and it was humbling to see the community come together once again to support great local causes.”
Fisher House receives a check for $16,250
In addition, $7,000 was donated to four local non-profits whose cook teams impressed tasters and earned the most votes. Healing Paws for Warriors served the winning bite and earned $3,000 for their cause. The Eggstras cooked for South Walton Academy and earned second place and a $2,000 donation. Sinfonia Gulf Coast and Boys and Girls Club of the Emerald Coast tied for third place. Chef Pam Wellborn of 30A Destin Ice House cooked for Sinfonia and earned $1,000 donation with a grilled shrimp with gazpacho bite and paired with vodka tea lemonade and each vote was accompanied by musical fanfare by student musicians. Going to toe to toe with Sinfonia, the Boys and Girls Club of the Emerald Coast presented their scorched chicken wings, which were cooked on the Big Green Egg, glazed and torched tableside, and also earned a $1,000 donation to benefit their youth programs.
More than 600 tasters attended the event and voted for their favorites. Tasters’ choice overall winners included: 1st Place: Healing Paws for Warriors, 2nd Place: Saltwater Restaurants and 3rd Place BE-CI. In addition, local culinary experts, including Chef Dan Vargo from Fine Coastal Cuisine, Chef Dave Bishop of Bud & Alley’s, Chef Gary Serafin of Emerald Coast Catering and Chef Mimmo La Innusa from Mimmo’s Ristorante Italiano, judged each bite and awarded trophies based on flavor, presentation, and creativity. Judge’s Choice winners for 2021 include 1st Place: Brock Landscaping Cooking for Fisher House of the Emerald Coast, 2nd Place: Blue Angels Foundation and 3rd Place: Saltwater Restaurants.
Cook Teams that incorporated Knob Creek Rye into their bite were judged in the Knob Creek Awards competition. The Best Knob Creek Bites included 1st Place: The Eggstras Cooking for South Walton Academy, 2nd Place: BE-CI, 3rd Place: Get Out My Grill Cooking for Food for Thought, and Honorable Mentions: Premier Property Group and BBQ Confidential.
Eggs on the Beach has donated more than $205,500 to local non-profits since its inception in 2013. For grillers who have dreamed of owning a Big Green Egg, a small quantity of gently used Demo Eggs are still on sale at Bay Breeze Patio. For more information, visit EggsontheBeach.com.
