As I drove to Kerr Park of Downingtown with windows down and broken air conditioning on the blistering day, a smell that could only reminiscent of the beach blew through my car. I pegged it as the scent of burning asphalt which always heightens when you’re just a block from the sand. There was certainly no sand nearby but the asphalt was burning just the same on the ninety plus degree day. I would not allow the heat to distract me from my mission, the First Annual Chester County Mac-n-Cheese Cook-off.
I made sure to arrive slightly early and mentally prepare myself. You see, I wasn’t just a bystander at this grand Mac-n-Cheese Cook-off. On Sunday, June 10 the Downingtown-Thorndale Rotary Club, nearly 600 attendees and contestants were counting on my taste buds to find the greatest recipe among the ten cheesy entries. With four other palates prepared to critique, we began by examining the presentation of each bowl.
The cheesy dishes were judged on three aspects; appearance, texture and, most importantly, taste. Before disrupting the cuisine with our handy sporks, we perused the line up and carefully assigned our choice of numbers 1 through 7 for each offering. To receive a score of 7 meant “top notch”, 4 was in the “so-so” region and 1 represented a “disaster.” At this point they all looked incredibly delicious to a particular someone who skipped breakfast (me), but I judged carefully and with a scrutinizing eye.
When it came time for the taste and texture portion, all judges were patient and cleansed their palates between each bowl to avoid flavor interference. Each mac-n-cheese was presented anonymously and we weren’t permitted to visit the vendors beforehand, so biased opinions were out of the question. You may wonder, “how many recipes could there possibly be for mac-n-cheese,” but I assure you every bite was different from the one before. I happily bounced from one to another, sampling a seafood mac-n-cheese with hints of crab, mac-n-cheese fashioned with buffalo chicken, a dish which incorporated pesto, another with stewed tomatoes. Even wild mushrooms made an appearance. Some were just on the verge of greatness, needing maybe a little more salt or cheese, but most fell close to the top notch rating. It was a challenging decision for me in the end but there had to be a victor!
After tallying up my numbers, three totals were disturbingly close and I couldn’t pick a final winner before revisiting those particular dishes. I sporked each bite into my mouth, let it sit for a while and slowly chewed, determined not to miss any components. With the decision narrowed down to three, I considered all the judgeable aspects (taste, texture and appearance) one last time, entered the final numbers and handed in my judge’s form. It was all over. Their fate now lay in the mouths of four other judges.
The waiting period between my final decision and the big announcement had the potential to be terribly miserable. However, thanks to a jolly crowd that gathered, refreshments from Victory Brewing Company and unlimited amounts of Mac-n-Cheese, it was a spectacular time. First things first, I made it a point to visit each stand and recognize who’s mac-n-cheese I had eaten moments ago.
Triple Fresh was posted up right next to the kid’s craft tent, which may have influenced their final win for “Kid’s Choice Award” but the verdict on that is still being investigated. They served a Five Cheese Mac-n-Cheese with Buttered Panko Bread Crumbs. It was perfectly crunchy, and I recognized it as one of my high scorers in the texture department.
Proceeding along the perimeter of the lot where the vendor tents were placed, Molly Maguire’s fell next. They concocted a Jambalaya dish with spicy andouille sausage and crispy bread crumbs. I suggest planning a trip to their Phoenixville location if it’s ever featured as their Mac-n-Cheese of the Day. It’s only a short trip for Downingtown residents but will soon become shorter when Molly’s opens their new location in the current 100 year-old stone fire hall building!
My third visit was the only individual entry, Andy Keen. He whipped together a “Mac Daddy” Buffalo Chicken Mac-n-Cheese using a mexican and bleu cheese blend. The hot sauce gave the dish a perfect amount of tang, cooled by the bleu cheese chunks mixed throughout. If the bleu cheese didn’t do it for you, Margo’s Ice Cream was holding down the fort next door prepared to settle a fiery mouth with their sweet treats. It was much appreciated since Foster Boys wasn’t far behind with their jalapeno version.
One of my top picks from the mac-n-cheese haven was Firecreek Restaurant. They served endless amounts of a “Wild Mushroom Ham-n-Cheese” which included 15 year aged smoked gouda, 5 year aged white cheddar, 2 year aged havarti, brown sugar rubbed canadian bacon and wild mushrooms. Chef Joel Schafer blew guests away with his pronounced flavors from the fresh, local ingredients of Wyebrook Farm and proudly took home the second place title!
Bordley House Grille claimed a top spot in my book and that seemed to be a trend. They snagged both the People’s and Judge’s Choice Awards for the day. Executive Chef Jamie Nafe, who ironically left Firecreek Restaurant to join the Bordley House crew only five days before the competition, crafted a true masterpiece with his mac-n-cheese using local Kennett Square mushrooms, goat cheese from Yellow Springs Farm in Chester Springs, and rosemary from their own herb garden! Although I usually find rosemary to be too overpowering in dishes such as this, it was perfectly proportioned and as fresh as could be! The award was well earned!
I was beginning to reach my limit but chomped on through The Hotel Sports Pub & Grille’s “Crabby Macky” and Midway Bar & Grille’s “Middy Magnifilicious” Mac-n-Cheese. Their incorporation of crab meat and Midway’s de-boned ribs proved to be a nice change of pace from the carbohydrate overload. Beaver Creek Tavern carefully subdued their noodle offering by throwing in a hearty helping of Italian style stewed tomatoes with the extra sharp cheddar cheese.
I hit up Station Taproom’s tent located conveniently next to the Victory beer garden, right before calling it a day. Although, “mac-n-cheese” and “light” aren’t usually found in the same sentence, I was surprised by the nature of this dish. They combined cheddar, swiss and arugula pesto to create a simple but tasty mac-n-cheese that I would eat again and again even on a hot day. You can’t find it on their menu right now, but perhaps they’ll consider adding it after the rave reviews on Sunday?
Nearly 600 people attended the official debut of this Rotary Fundraiser, which took many vendos by surprise. Several had run out of offerings by 2 pm – but there is always next year! Lead event organizer, Autumn Katzenmoyer, is already excited about the 2013 Chester County Mac-n-Cheese Cook-off and there may even be plans to move the event to a cooler season. Ninety degrees or not, this event was overflowing with more than cheesy goodness and I’ll be sure to stop back next year for the tasty offerings, live music, great company, and sporks!
