Competition Heats Up at Texas Onion Fest Recipe Contest

Weslaco – Chefs of all ages competed at Weslaco’s 22nd Annual Onion Fest in the HEB Recipe Contests.  Held at the AEP Culinary Center, contestants displayed their entries in decorative fashion before a live audience while judges sampled each dish.  Judges based each onion recipe entry on appearance, texture and flavor, giving an overall score.  In addition, each recipe had to contain at least ½ cup of onions.

The onion recipe contest included three divisions- appetizer, main dish, and dessert, with two separate categories for adults and professionals.  The salsa contest consisted of four categories, including youth, student, adult and professional.  After the judging portion of the contest, spectators enjoyed tasty samples of each entry.

Winners for the 2011 Onion Recipe and Salsa contests are as follows:

Appetizers:

      Professional Category: 

            1st Place – Joe Caballero

            2nd Place – Elvia Berry

            3rd Place – Dalia de la O Carr

      Adult Category:

            1st Place – Misty Mutz

            2nd Place – Pablo G. Pena, Jr.

            3rd Place – Audrey Eoff

Main Dish:

      Professional Category:

            1st Place – Elvia Berry

            2nd Place – Dalia de la O Carr

      Adult Category:

            1st Place – Pablo G. Pena, Jr.

            2nd Place – Audrey Eoff

Dessert:

      Professional Category:

            1st Place – Joe Caballero

            2nd Place – Elvia Berry

            3rd Place – Shaela Posz

      Adult Category:

            1st Place – Nancy Courser

            2nd Place – Pablo G. Pena, Jr.

            3rd Place – Audrey Eoff

Salsa Recipes

      Professional Category: 

            1st Place – Margarita Ysquierdo

            2nd Place – Shaela Posz

            3rd Place – Dorothy Gonzalez

      Adult Category:

            1st Place – Pablo G. Pena, Jr.

            2nd Place (Three-way tie) -  Eva Mora, Pio Alejandro III, Nancy Courser

            3rd Place – (Two-way tie) – Melissa Montalvo, Judy Leahe

      Student Category (13 – 18 yrs)

            1st Place – Angela Montalvo

            2nd Place – Selina Diaz

            3rd Place – Daniel Diaz

      Youth Category:

            1st Place – Stephanie Garcia

The Texas Onion Fest is a community event planned by the Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce staff and volunteers in collaboration with the City of Weslaco.  The winner’s recipes will be posted on the Chamber’s Onion Fest website at www.weslaco.com/OnionFest.