Category: Food Festivals & Events

The fourth annual Wilson Iron Chef competition was held on Sunday, March 26. The event pitted three of the area’s top chefs against each other in a timed competition. Chef Josh Haines of Jimmie G’s Beverly Hills Tavern earned the victory over Chef Tim Twiford of the Crowne Plaza and Chef Mike Rauenzahn of the Bernville Eagle Hotel. Each of the chefs had to incorporate four ingredients in their dish: sausage, red cabbage, Greek yogurt and cheese curls.

In the People’s Choice competition, nine restaurants were competing for two spots in next year’s Iron Chef competition. All nine competitors had to incorporate cheese into their featured dish. Don’s Food Products & Melanie’s Medley’s earned first place with its Champagne and Gouda bisque. Second place went to Ganley’s for its smoked bacon and Gorgonzola stuffed dates with spicy Jameson glaze.

Also part of the day again this year was vendor row with more than 20 vendors offering samples of their foods and products. Check out our photo gallery to see some of the highlights of this year’s competition:

Editor’s Note: The Hamburg School District no longer hosts an Iron Chef event.

For the past three years, I have taken every opportunity to attend Berks County’s two Iron Chef competitions at Wilson and Hamburg School Districts.

Today (November 6) was the sixth annual Iron Chef Hamburg, and another opportunity to sample some great local eats.

One of my favorite parts of these events is the live auction, specifically the bidding for the final judge’s seat. Every year I try, and every year I get out-bid.

I tried again this year. And after bidding up to $360, I finally won.

I was whisked backstage with my fellow judges for a briefing about the scoring and rules of the day. I was, by far, the least qualified of the four who would determine the winner.

We were split into two tables of two. At the first table was Chef Genaro Delillo, chef at the Downtown Lounge in Lebanon and contestant on the current season of Hell’s Kitchen. With him was Chef Brittany Mattison, former contestant on Food Network’s Chopped Teen Challenge, current high school student at Boyertown, and future student at Johnson & Wales University.

Joining me at my table was Gangi E. Cucciuffo, middle school principal in the Fleetwood School District and the son of a classically trained chef who grew up in the food business.

Then there was the food blogger.

The real stars on this day were the three competing chefs: Chef Michael Martino from Melanie’s Medleys and Don’s Food Products, Chef David Shefter, Jr., from the Penn Werner Hotel, and Chef Troy Vance Woytovich from Lake Wynonah Lodge.

One of the coolest parts about being a judge is having the freedom to walk around the stage during the 35-minute competition to watch the chefs in action, ask them questions and get an up-close look at the dishes coming together.

As in many cooking competitions, there were several mandatory ingredients. Each chef had three things that had to go into every plate: fresh sausage, apple butter and Brussels sprouts.

Chef David made the boldest choice, creating sausage tacos with apple butter Fireball whiskey reduction and slaw, with a Brussels sprouts, carrot and onion medley on the side.

No one would ever accuse the Shefter family of underseasoning a dish. I wish the taco had just a little less heat to it, though. While delicious, the sausage was lost and we all felt that he could have substituted any protein in it and it would have been very much the same.

The vegetables added color to the plate, but beyond that, the plating was very simple (tacos just aren’t the prettiest entree) and that inevitably hurt in the final scores.

On the opposite end of the stage, Chef Troy presented a lovely little plate with sausage, pork tenderloin and topped with an apple butter-based sauce atop a bed of Chino Cubano polenta. On the side were pan-seared Brussels sprouts and a pear salad.

Everything was very good. The meat and the sauce went very well together. The sprouts were cooked well. The pear slaw was excellent.

Our biggest criticism was that the Brussels sprouts were just there. They weren’t incorporated into anything and there was little extra done to them. Talking with my fellow judges, we also felt that the tenderloin was unnecessary. Adding a second protein to the plate took away from the sausage, which was the feature ingredient.

Then there was Chef Michael Martino. Chef Michael was the defending champion of the event and appeared every bit the seasoned competition veteran throughout.

While his competitors were at times scattered and rushed, Chef Michael and his sous chef always appeared calm, taking their time to craft what was easily the most beautiful plate that we were presented.

The sausage was in what Chef Michael called Hunter Sauce. It was incredible, transforming the sausage into a dish worthy of a high-end steakhouse. Mushrooms and pearl onions added to the composition.

On the side, we were given a dollop of smashed redskin potatoes that was very nice and an incredible Brussels sprout salad with an incredible vinaigrette.

You may also notice the dusted fork and spoon outlines, made with Porcini mushroom flakes. By not cooking the Brussels sprouts, Chef Michael had extra time to garnish the plate. It just added to the overall experience.

Though it was a close match-up, it was unanimous among the judges that Chef Michael had earned his second consecutive Iron Chef championship. We were split on second place, but Chef Troy earned the runner-up spot with Chef David finishing third.

I thoroughly enjoyed every dish that was presented and wish I could have just sat there all evening and finished them (I came close).

It was the most expensive meal(s) that I have ever had with Berks County Eats but worth every penny. Not only did I get to eat some of the best food that I have ever tried, I got to meet some incredible people (I’ve already promised Chef Genaro that I’ll be making a trip to Lebanon in the near future).

And the money goes to the Hamburg Area Education Foundation. Any time I can give back to local schools, it feels good.

This time, it felt really good. And I feel very full.

Of all the food festivals in Berks County, none are bigger than the Taste of Hamburg-er.

Every September, tens of thousands of hungry people descend upon Hamburg for a taste of its namesake dish. But the timing was never right for me, and for 11 years, life got in the way of my attending.

I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from attending this year. September 5 had been circled on my calendar since last fall, and I was going no matter what.

The festival opened at 10 a.m., but we decided to take our chances and wait out the lunchtime rush. At about 1:30, we pulled into the parking lot of Hamburg High School and waited for our shuttle bus to carry us to the festival in the town below.

After a quick stop at the Hamburg Field House, we were delivered to the festival and the throngs of people who packed the streets.

I did a little research ahead of time, but I was no closer to making a decision as we started our walk along Fourth Street.

We passed the deep-fried burgers at Ray’s Catering, the bacon cheeseburgers from Scout Troop #184 and incredible selection from the Penn Werner Hotel (Oscar burgers, Baja burgers,  mac and cheese burgers, to name a few). I was surprised to also see CC’s Wooden Grill, the former Kutztown restaurant that closed more than a year ago, set up as well.

Making a left onto State Street, we saw the Weis Markets stand. Nothing against Weis Markets—we do most of our grocery shopping there—but there was no way that I would choose them over the 33 other stands.

We continued along State passed the Hometown Restaurant and Catering stand with half-pound burgers on pretzel rolls. We also passed Hecky’s Sub Shop, which was business as usual, attracting patrons with the promise of air conditioning.

After skipping the Leesport Lodge and the Inn of Orwigsburg, I found the burger of my dreams.

Smokey Bear BBQ was set up on the corner of State and Third Streets. I had vaguely remembered reading about them before we left the house, and my memory was quickly jogged when I saw the sign for “The Grizzly.”

The Grizzly is aptly named because it would comfortably feed a bear. They take a one-third pound beef patty and throw a quarter-pound of brisket on top and serve it on a Kaiser roll. It’s simple, but it works. The brisket was perfectly tender. The burger was juicy. Both had that great smoky flavor I love in my barbecue, and together they made a perfect lunch.

We hung a right on Third Street to find something for Julie. The line for the Deitsch Eck was a little too long (with options like The Luther—a bacon cheeseburger on a glazed donut—I’m not surprised) so we continued on past Uncle Paul’s Stuffed Pretzels to the Chowhound Wagon.

The Chowhound Wagon comes all the way from the Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore to the event. In the Reading Eagle’s Festival Guide, the description merely said, “Serving burgers, fries, and soda.”

I don’t know if this was left intentionally vague, but those five words don’t do justice to what the Chowhound had to offer.

The food truck had six gourmet burgers, all made with Angus beef, or a build-your-own option with your choice of beef, turkey, veggie, bison, Wagyu or lamb. Julie played it safe with the “Elvis Got the Blues” burger, topped with Maytag blue cheese and apple-smoked bacon. After one bite, Julie was hooked.

As for the fries, Chowhound offered four options: French fries, sweet potato fries, fifty-fifty fries (half regular, half sweet potato) and truffle fries. It didn’t take much convincing by me to talk her into an order of the truffle fries.

They were delicious. Truffle oil makes everything better, but I absolutely love it on French fries. But the addition of the garlic and parsley just made these perfect. We both left with garlic breath, but it was well-worth it.

Somehow after all of that, we still had room for dessert. We had hoped to grab a seat at the soda fountain at Adams and Bright Drugs on State Street, but everyone else seemed to have the same idea.

Thankfully, one of our favorite mobile stands, the Perk Up Truck, was there to provide cool relief from the 90-degree heat. We each grabbed a smoothie: fresh peach for me, frozen strawberry hot chocolate for Julie.

The only problem with the festival is also it’s greatest strength. All of the participants are bringing their biggest, most creative burgers to the event. Even without the fries and smoothie, I would not have been able to force a second burger. That meant passing on things like Gourmand’s Berks Burgers (with Lebanon bologna, cream cheese, apple butter and Good’s potato chips), Smokin’ Bull Shack’s loaded burger (cheese, pulled pork, BBQ sauce, pastrami, baked beans, coleslaw and onion rings) and Spuds‘ surf and turf burger (crab meat, lettuce, tomato and Chesapeake mayo).

If only I had three stomachs and a full day to try all of them. Still, I left with no regrets about my choices. And after trekking back up the hill to my car, I didn’t feel the least bit guilty about my choices.

2015 Taste of Hamburg-er Contest Winners

Best Burger-Restaurant

Grand Prize: Kooper’s Chowhound
Appearance: Kooper’s Chowhound
Taste: Kooper’s Chowhound
Originality: Deitsch Eck
Best Value: Weis Markets

Best Burger-Organization

Grand Prize: Salem EC Church
Appearance: Salem EC Church
Taste: Salem EC Church & Boy Scout #184
Originality: Salem EC Church
Best Value: Salem EC Church

Best Burger-Mobile Unit

Grand Prize: Ray’s Catering
Appearance: Ray’s Catering
Taste: Pop’s Original Screamer Sauce
Originality: Ray’s Catering
Best Value: The Hawg House

People’s Choice Award

1st Place: Uncle Paul’s Stuffed Pretzels
2nd Place: Deitsch Eck
3rd Place: Smokey Bear BBQ

The Wilson Education Foundation held its second annual Wilson Iron Chef competition on Sunday, March 22. Berks County Eats was there among the sold out crowd of more than 800 hungry patrons, all of whom got to sample food from more than 40 vendors and enjoy a friendly, but intense, culinary competition.

Vendor Row

The doors opened at 1 p.m. and hundreds of people had poured in to the Wilson High School gym by the time I arrived a few minutes later. For the first two hours, vendor lane was open with more than 40 area restaurants and food businesses offering free samples of food and drinks.

As soon as I walked in the door, I was greeted by a server from Paolo’s Restaurant & Bar on Lancaster Avenue with an inviting dessert. It was the same mini pie shell and cream as last year, this time with chocolate chips (because, why not?)

At the first booth, Paolo’s was handing out samples of a pair of their dinner favorites: stromboli and garlic knots. I only wish they could have brought just a little sauce for the ham and cheese stromboli.

Eating dessert first is just something that seems to happen at Iron Chef as the next stand along the way belonged to Pat’s Hawaiian Shave Ice. The vanilla flavor tasted just like the vanilla twin pops I used to eat as a kid.

Next in line was Pilsudski Polish Style Mustard with samples of mustard, mustard with horseradish, and horseradish. I went for the mustard-horseradish mix, and that was more than strong enough for me.

Thankfully the perk-up truck was there with some smoothies to help calm the taste buds. I had their banana smoothie once before at the VF Outlet Food Truck Festival, and was more than happy to enjoy it once again.

The Penn Werner Hotel, one of the participants in the actual Iron Chef competition, kept it simple with a tasty corn chowder at its booth.

In a repeat of last year, Salino’s once again brought along some of its Italian specialties including meatballs and sausage in tomato sauce.

Moe’s Southwest Grille was giving out some of the largest portions of anyone with 1/2 beef burritos up for grabs. As much as I love Moe’s, I had to refrain from eating the whole thing and ruining my appetite for the rest of the day.

Velata Kitchen Products had a variety available at their stand. Popcorn was seasoned with its brand of seasoning mix, pulled pork with Velata’s barbecue sauce, and crepes made with one of the company’s crepe makers were all available as the friendly staff talked about Velata’s home parties.

One of the best things I had while touring vendor lane was the pulled pork taco from Station House Grille. It was topped with the restaurant’s signature slaw, with a creaminess that really complimented the pork.

Another newcomer at this year’s Iron Chef was Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza who brought along samples of both their baked wings and meatballs. The meatball was a lot bigger than it looked so I decided to pass on the wings (and I had tried both at the restaurant a few weeks ago and loved everything I had).

The most impressive stand on vendor row had to be Elevation Burger, who actually sent a cook to grill sliders to order. Unfortunately, this also had the effect of holding up the line, which because of placement, was actually two lines coming together. The burger was good (a little greasier than what it would probably be at the restaurant), but I can’t say that it was worth the wait.

If you’re going to have a burger, you might as well have a hot dog too. The Reading Fightins’ were handing out half-portions of their famous ballpark hot dogs, still one of my favorite ballpark snacks.

Offering slightly smaller samples, Anita’s Biscottis was back with samples of their delicious Italian cookies.

East-West Kitchen, a Fairgrounds Farmers Market stand specializing in Asian and American dishes, had samples of some delicious chili and pulled pork with Asian barbecue sauce.

More pulled pork was available from Dickey’s Barbecue, one of the newcomers to Berks County, which also offered samples of their ham and baked beans, as well as several of their sauces.

Unfortunately I couldn’t make it to every stand as it was just too full (both the lines and my stomach). Other vendors included Subway, Edible Arrangements, Isaac’s Famous Grilled Sandwiches, Slush Puppie, Mays Sandwich Shop, New York Bagelry, Mamas Pizza, Outback Steakhouse, the Pampered Chef and Sweet Ride Ice Cream.

People’s Choice

The People’s Choice competition is probably my favorite part of the Iron Chef event. Fans got to choose their favorite dish from nine area restaurants, all of whom had to use the same ingredient: sweet potatoes.

The Crowne Plaza had the most visually appealing spread with sweet potato puree, sweet potato crusted almond chicken, a balsamic salad and sweet potato-infused lemonade. Everything was amazing (even the lemonade) except the salad, which really didn’t need to be there in the first place.

Ganly’s went with an opposite approach and kept things simple with an Asian sweet potato dip with five-spice kettle chips. It was a very good dip (the chips were phenomenal) but it was always going to be hard to compare it to the other restaurants that went bigger.

The Hitching Post went really small, offering sweet potato bites: a sweet potato disc with roasted jalapeno and cilantro crema, and finshed with crispy bacon crumbles and chives. It packed a lot of punch for such a small dish, but it was a literal “bite” as it was gone in a hurry.

One of the best items I tried all day was Dans at Green Hills “famous” sweet potato soup. It had lots of flavor, a great texture (with little diced sweet potatoes still inside) and a nice finish from the sour cream and chives on top.

Adelphia Seafood, who won the People’s Choice at the Hamburg Iron Chef earlier this year, brought sweet potato gnocchi in a lobster Newberg sauce. I loved the gnocchi, but I am just not a lobster fan (I know I am in the minority).

Canal Street Pub brought a pair of items: sweet potato corn chowder and sweet potato beer bread. The chowder was good, but wasn’t quite on the same level as Dan’s. The beer bread was also good, but I didn’t taste much sweet potato in it.

The Tavern on Penn brought some pulled pork sliders with pickled slaw and sweet potato. I loved the sandwich, but I really couldn’t taste the sweet potato through the rest of the ingredients.

Another one of my favorites from the day was the sweet potato flan from Bernville Eagle Hotel. The flan was topped in bourbon-maple butter sauce with a candied pecan. It was great to get a sweet dish among all of the savory choices, and it really delivered a lot of flavor for such a small dish.

The final entrant into the People’s Choice competition was Beverly Hills Tavern with sweet potato encrusted salmon fritters. I’m not a seafood guy, but I loved the sweet potato crust. If this was chicken, I probably would have fallen in love with this dish, especially with the brown butter and pumpkin sage sauce.

My vote went to Dan’s at Green Hills, but it was a tough choice between Dan’s, Crowne Plaza and Bernville Eagle Hotel. Dan’s took home the top spot with Crowne Plaza second, meaning those two restaurants will be competing in next year’s Iron Chef.

Iron Chef Competition

The main event of the day was the Iron Chef cooking competition which pitted three of the area’s top chefs against each other in a 35-minute battle. The three chefs who competed were Jason Hook of H2O Kitchen, Raffale Cirandine of G.N.A. Ristorante, and defending champion David Shefter of the Penn Werner Hotel.

The chefs all had to prepare a dish and side using four secret ingredients: turkey tenderloins, quinoa, patty pan squash and the real kicker, gummy worms.

After 35 minutes of cooking, Chef Cirandine did not have his dish completely plated, which resulted in a points penalty on his final judging. That essentially left just two chefs with a chance to win, with Chef Jason Hook claiming the top prize.

That means that Jason Hook will compete next year against the chefs from Dan’s at Green Hills and the Crowne Plaza during the third annual Wilson Iron Chef competition, scheduled for next March.

If you were one of the more than 800 people in attendance, what was the favorite thing you tried? What did you think of the competition? Tell us in the comments section below.

Editor’s Note: The Reading Fire & Ice Fest was discontinued after 2019. West Reading now hosts an Ice & Spice Festival each January with food specials and ice sculptures.

This past weekend, the Reading Downtown Improvement District presented the first annual Reading Fire + Ice Fest, a combination indoor/outdoor festival that featured three days of events in and around Penn Square. I make it a habit to support as many local festivals as I can, which is why I braved the sub-freezing temperatures and headed downtown on Saturday for the Fire + Ice Fest.

The highlight for food-lovers had to be the Chili cook-off. Seven area restaurants and two individuals brought the fire to an icy Saturday afternoon, all competing to win the favor of both the judges (a team of Reading firefighters) and festival-goers.

The competitors were set up inside the ballroom of the Abraham Lincoln Hotel, a beautiful (and thankfully warm) venue. It’s a place that probably sees more filet mignon and hors d’oeuvres than bowls of meat and beans.

First in line was the offering from Jimmie Kramer’s Peanut Bar. This was one of the chunkier of the chili that I tried, with a heavy emphasis on the tomato. Through it all, there was a distinct taste of balsamic vinegar that came through, giving it a flavor that was far different from all of the others, and one that I greatly enjoyed.

Callowhill Cafe Coffee Shop would have been the next stop in the rotation, but by the time I arrived, the table was already bare.

Instead, my second stop was the Mi Casa Su Casa stand. Mi Casa Su Casa made the bold choice to go with a white chicken chili instead of a more traditional beef and bean. The chili had a cauliflower and white bean base with carrots, celery and other vegetables mixed in. In this case, different was better as the restaurant provided a dish that truly stood out.

With the event in its own building, the Abraham Lincoln Hotel brought their own chili, along with several topping options and a tortilla chip. What set this chili apart was the sauce, which carried a strong barbecue flavor.

My next stop was Boscov’s Catering. The chili was good, delicious, but nothing to really make it stand out from the rest. The best part of this was the homemade tortilla chip that it was served with it.

Another restaurant that opted to be different was Judy’s on Cherry, who went with a pork and black bean chili with a dollop of sour cream on top. The large chunk of pork was tender and delicious, but with a very brothy sauce, it ate more like a soup than a true chili.

Sofrito Gastro Pub‘s chorizo chili was probably the hottest one that I tasted during the event. It featured a heavy dose of hot peppers. To help cool it off, the chili was served with homemade coconut bread croutons that really complemented the dish.

One of two non-restaurants to enter the competition, the Kauffman family (no relation to Kauffman’s Bar-B-Que Chicken) who came with their own version of the white chicken chili. It was good, but I thought it was just a tad over-spiced and couldn’t compete with Mi Casa Su Casa’s white chili.

The second of the independents was Lauren Kessler, who, like Callowhill Cafe, had already run out of chili by the time I arrived. It’s a shame because the “Three Little Pigs” chili sounded like it could be a winner.

Every patron who entered the banquet hall received six People’s Choice tickets. I spread mine out between four restaurants: The Peanut Bar, Mi Casa Su Casa, the Abraham Lincoln and Sofrito (the Abe and Peanut Bar split my two extra tickets). I was surprised to find out later that Boscov’s had swept both the judged and People’s Choice competitions. Not that I didn’t enjoy their offering, I just thought there were better options.

After finishing off my last cup of chili, I headed out to the ice sculpting competition. Dragons aren’t really my thing, but I couldn’t help but appreciate the intricacy of the designs on display.

All weekend, Penn Street was lined with sculptures that showcased both sponsors of the event, including a frozen bust of Abraham Lincoln, and Reading landmarks like the Pagoda and a massive train.

There was also live entertainment all weekend, as well as food trucks on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, a Saturday morning pancake breakfast at the Outside-In, a Snow Ball on Saturday night at the Abraham Lincoln, and free ice cream sundaes on Sunday.

For a first-time event, it looked like the Reading Fire + Ice Fest drew a nice crowd, especially at the chili cook-off, evident by multiple places running out of chili before it closed at 2 p.m.

I certainly hope it was successful enough to come back for another year. I’m looking forward to more chili.

Editor’s Note: The Hamburg Area School District no longer hosts the annual Iron Chef competition

Ever since I left the first annual Wilson Iron Chef competition stuffed and smiling, I was counting down the days until November 2.

That was the date of the fourth annual Iron Chef Hamburg, the longest-running such competition in the area, and my next chance to experience an amazing culinary event.

And of course, my next chance to sample all of the amazing food.

Like others that have mimicked its style, Iron Chef Hamburg is really four events in one. The People’s Choice competition, food tasting and auction lead into the main event, the Iron Chef competition.

People’s Choice

Our first stop was the People’s Choice room. Nine area restaurants were set up inside the high school gym, each one with their own unique dish created using the year’s secret ingredient: apples.

Up for grabs for the two top vote-getters were places in next year’s Iron Chef competition so all of the chefs brought their best, most creative dishes.

First in line was the Bernville Eagle Hotel, who had what was probably the most original of the nine items. The chef was busy plating more when I bit into mine, and he busted out laughing when I said, “This is really good, but I have to ask. What did I just eat?” What I ate was a puff pastry topped with Swiss cheese, apple and mushrooms, drizzled with balsamic. It was a flavor that stayed with me as I made the rounds.

Next up was a stop at It’s Just BBQ, a Deer Lake restaurant known for the famous “Pink Pig.” With a limited menu of brisket, ribs, pulled pork and chicken, they had little room for adaptation, so they used the apples in the best way they could: in the sauce. Their already sweet barbecue sauce was infused with chunks of apples and drizzled atop their tender pulled pork. It was delicious, but it’s nothing I hadn’t tasted before.

Stop number three was Hamburg’s Pappy T’s Pub & Lounge, who opted for roast duck topped with apples and bacon. I can honestly say that I never expected to taste duck on this trip. The duck was good, though it was a little chewier than I like, but that was probably because it had to sit in a warmer for an extended time.

Moving on, we arrived at Adelphia Seafood, who made the trip from West Lawn with their apple and cheddar bisque topped with crab and/or bacon. Not being a fan of crab meat, I opted for bacon-only, and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t find myself wanting more.

One dish that I would have really loved to have tasted when it was fresh was the meatballs being served by the Schuylkill Country Club of Orwigsburg. By the time I got mine, it was lukewarm, though the flavors still popped, a combination of sweet and savory with the apple really shining through.

The Indian Fort Inn went for a dish that was both simple and complex. The Hamburg restaurant gave us chicken and apple atop fried wontons. The only thing that hurt this dish was that the wonton was a little too strong, throwing off the balance just enough that the wonton was the only flavor that stayed with me.

The biggest disappointment of the day came from the Virginville Hotel, not because their food was bad, but because their food was already gone by the time we got there. What made it worse was seeing the description of their pork-based dish sitting on the table in front of an empty warming tray.

Apparently knowing I was coming, the Bowers Hotel prepared traditional Pennsylvania Dutch schnitz und knepp. I was almost forced to vote for it on principle, especially as the chef kept scooping more onto my plate in an effort to ensure I got a dumpling. It was everything I could have hoped for, I only wish I would have had a bowl so I could have better enjoyed all the juice that had pooled on the plate.

Last, but certainly not least, was the Kempton Hotel. The restaurant came in with the same idea as It’s Just BBQ, opting for pulled pork with an apple-based barbecue sauce. It was good, but tasting the same thing twice turned me off to voting for both dishes.

In the end, Julie and I split our votes between the Bernville Eagle and Bowers Hotels. I won’t tell you which side my votes fell two days later during the election, but I can tell you that we did not cast the winning votes in the People’s Choice. Instead, it was announced that Adelphia Seafood earned the top honor with It’s Just BBQ coming in runner-up. In all honesty, I would not have been shocked by any of the eight dishes we tried earning the nod.

Food Vendors

With such great participation in the People’s Choice competition, I was a little disappointed with the vendor area. Of the 25 vendors, only a handful were restaurants. The rest were a mix-and-match of food-related businesses that included Pure Wild Tea, Solude Coffee, Tastefully Simple and Dove Chocolate. The Hamburg School District also prepared a multitude of dishes using their kitchen’s vendors like Tyson chicken and Jennie-O-Turkey.

But there was good food to be had, including white chicken chili from the Bowers Hotel.

Deitsch Eck also brought some of their housemade pies. Having already sampled the shoo-fly pie on my visit, I grabbed a piece of peach pie. I’m looking forward to going back to the restaurant for a full slice.

Keeping with the sweets, Way-Har Farms had three flavors of ice cream to sample: strawberry, peanut butter and my choice, vanilla fudge.

Penn Werner Hotel was also there, though all that was left when we arrived were chicken bites that you could use to sample hot wing sauce and promote the 2015 Pepper Jam.

Benefit Auction

Between the end of the food tasting and the start of the Iron Chef, guests could buy raffle tickets or bid in the live auction.

The big prize was the opportunity to be the fourth judge for the Iron Chef, a prize that went for well over $500.

There was also a door prize raffle, and I was glad my number wasn’t called because it seemed that every prize package included two tickets to see Tony Orlando.

Iron Chef Competition

The grand finale of the day was the Iron Chef competition. Three chefs were competing for the title of 2014 Iron Chef: Paul Weitzel of Haag’s Hotel, Ron Liszcz of Stirling Guest Hotel, and defending champion Tim Twiford of Prime Steak and Wine (at the Crowne Plaza).

The three chefs had 35 minutes to make and plate their dishes, using all of the three secret ingredients: top round steak, Brussels sprouts and Ramen Noodles.

Chef Twiford came well-prepared, bringing his own cart full of gadgets, including a smoker gun which got the audience’s attention as soon as he lit it.

With the steak serving as the entree, chefs had to get creative with their sides and the required salad that would be presented with it. Chef Weitzel, stationed on the opposite end of the auditorium stage, took his Ramen noodles and used them to garnish his salad.

When the 35 minutes passed, the chefs presented their dishes to the judges, and the crowd had a chance to bid for a taste as two plates from each chef were auctioned off for a combined $600.

After the votes were tallied, Chef Twiford was declared the winner, successfully defending his title and earning him a place in next year’s competition.

It was a fun day to be a foodie, an event that I’ll be anticipating again next year.

I already circled November 1, 2015 in my calendar.

Editor’s Note: The Berks County Fair, formerly known as the Reading Fair, has been scaled back, including its food options which no longer include Grange meals.

Berks County has proud agricultural heritage. With fertile farmland and a thriving livestock industry, that tradition continues to this day on family farms throughout the county.

And it is that pride that is put on a pedestal every August for the Reading Fair.

Sure there are the unlimited rides on the Ferris wheel, and there are games waiting to test your skill with a ping pong ball or dart in your hand, and deep fried everything along the carnival midway, but that’s only part of the story.

There’s also the competition in the exhibit halls, the livestock on display in the barns, the horsepower on the track and some of the best fair food around, courtesy of the area’s local Grange organizations.

Beneath the Grange tent, you can find anything you could hope for: from staples like hamburgers and hot dogs to deep fried dishes like apple fritters and funnel cake.

Me, I will always gravitate toward the barbecue. In this case, that means a barbecue chicken sandwich, a pile of roasted, pulled chicken topped with all the Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce I want. Add on a side of fries and a pint of Clover Farms chocolate milk and I certainly don’t miss the greasy pizza or over-salted pretzels on the food wagons.

But the fair is more to me than just a place to eat, it’s a yearly chance for me to show off my own culinary skills.

It started with my grandmother’s shoo-fly pie recipe. I started baking the Pennsylvania German dessert about three years ago. I first entered it in the fair in 2012, and last year I took home a second-place ribbon for it.

This year, I entered three items in the baked goods competition, my shoo-fly pie, which again took home runner-up honors (seriously, look at that beautiful pie and tell me how it doesn’t win), a shoo-fly cake, which was good enough for third place, and a pecan pie, which earned a blue ribbon in the one-crust pie category.

All of the baked goods entered in the competition are auctioned off for charity at the end of the fair’s first night, so if you want to try any of my pies or cakes for yourself, bring your wallet next year.

It’s always fun to take a look around at the entries in the other competitions, especially the arts and crafts categories where you will find some very unique pieces.

And of course we have to talk a walk through the stalls to look at the sheep, goats, rabbits and cattle, some of which will end up being next year’s hamburgers.

Out on the track, which hosts a variety of racing events including motorcycle and micro-sprint racing, it was farm equipment on steroids as we watched souped-up tractors (mod-E-fieds as the Dutchy PA announcer called them) pulling a sled down the 300-foot dirt dragstrip.

For 160 years, the Reading Fair has brought together city and country in a celebration of everything that makes Berks County great. Like a fine wine, the tradition keeps getting better with age. Hopefully someone will be writing the same thing 160 years from now.