Thirty-two food trucks rolled into Veterans Park in Springfield Saturday for the ninth Springfield Rotary Gourmet Food Truck Competition, but only one of them rolled out of town as the grand prize winner.
Twisted Greek from West Chester, Ohio earned the $5,000 grand prize for its signature dish, The Midas Touch, a feta stuffed lamb and wagyu slider with pickled red onion, marinated tomatoes and arugula. The winner was determined by a panel of local chef judges, as well as anonymous roving judges during the event.
“This is our second time competing, first time winning,” said Stephen Spyrou, owner of Twisted Greek. “This is awesome. To be competing against friends and fellow food truckers is an awesome experience. We’re super excited.”
Dine-In Hawaiian from Hamilton, Ohio was named the $2,500 runner-up for its soy-braised pork belly with crispy pork skin, sunomono, miso soy reduction and micro garnish. Fetty’s Street Food from Columbus, Ohio was awarded the $1,500 third place prize for its Samosa Chaat with dinningvleis, a South African and Indian mash up of traditional and inspired flavors and textures including homemade flaky aloo (potato) samosa smashed together with a chickpea curry, fresh tomato salad, herbs and truck-made masala chaat (street food and spice power) topped with dinningvleis, 24-hour roasted lamb shoulder cooked with palm sugar and tamarind.
Chef judges determined winning dishes based upon a combination of flavor/taste, presentation/visual appeal and creativity/originality. The panel included:
- Jenn Disanto, Chef/Owner of Fresco by Chef Jenn Disanto (Dayton); and Executive Chef/Partner at SageCraft Catering (Kettering)
- Lisa Freeman, Chef/Owner of Crust & Company, Salato Deli, Le Torte Dolci and Ironworks Waffle Cafe (Springfield)
- Doug McGregor, Owner of Seasons Kitchen (Springfield)
- Armando Soto, Co-owner of Casa del Sabor (Springfield)
- Elizabeth Wiley, (Retired) Chef/Owner of Meadowlark Restaurant and Wheat Penny Oven and Bar (Dayton); and Partner of SageCraft Catering (Kettering)
Over 700 attendees used the Springfield Food Truck mobile app to vote for their favorite truck throughout the event, with Fat Rack’s Smoking Company from South Vienna, Ohio taking home the “People’s Choice” $1,000 prize.
“We’re just a couple of big brothers who like to sling barbecue.” said Ryan Krugh, co-owner of Fat Racks. “We have a great support network.”
This is the fourth time the Krugh Brothers have taken home the People’s Choice Award. They have entered five of the competition’s nine years.
In addition to the competition’s extensive food truck line-up, this year’s event once again featured live music from local bands and artists, including Mike Manley and Katie Harford, Andy Fox, The Factory Line and Terrapin Moon.
Attendees, both new and returning, continue to praise the Springfield Rotary Club for hosting a top-notch event enjoyed by residents across the region.
“This is our first food truck competition,” said Robert Harris of Springfield. “We feel like we are on Food Network, and we get to judge all of the food trucks. This is an event for us.”
The competition is a place for families and friends to enjoy fun and food.
“I’m a student at Wittenberg University so this event is in my backyard,” said Jasmine Evans of New Carlisle, Ohio.“ I brought my mom down to have a fun day and enjoy some yummy food.”
While food truck vendors kept their sales revenue from the day, all money raised from concession sales, corporate sponsorships and donations benefit the many charitable causes of the Springfield Rotary Club. The amount raised from the previous eight years of the event totals more than $300,000.
“People come for the food, drinks and live entertainment, but what they don’t realize is the impact this event has on our community year-round, especially local people with disabilities,” said Bell. “We intend to bring this event back bigger and better every year for many years to come; afterall, it’s Springfield’s must-taste event of the summer.”
The 2024 Springfield Rotary Food Truck Competition is tentatively scheduled for a weekend in August.
Each year the competition gets bigger and better. bob