From Twitter:
@jerryjamesstone we're shooting for summer time ;-)
**********SOLD OUT**********
We’re producing a very special tasting and book launch event with The New York Times’ Amanda Hesser and 15 of SF’s most kick-ass chefs and mixologists! Check out all the delicious details at our Ultimate Potluck Cocktail Brunch microsite!
Team Eat This Mexican mortar and pestle-d their way to glory with their People’s Choice-winning Gutsy Red Salsa! Simple? Yes. Delicious? Yes! Goes to show that sometimes, less is more. Viva la salsa! Continue reading for recipe…
Team Soul Cocina’s 1st Place-winning salsa was smoky delicious thanks to the labor-intensive use of charred and fig wood-smoked ingredients. None of that fake liquid stuff here–no gracias! Add a spicy, smoky kick to your food routine with some Salsa de Cascabel! Continue reading for recipe…
Put your macho pants on because it’s time to make Team Macho Salsa’s 2nd Place-winning Macho Madness salsa!! An array of chiles really spices things up when added to fresh tomatoes, garlic, and onion. Don’t delay and get extra caliente ahora!! Continue reading for recipe…
It’s finally feeling summer-ish in San Francisco, which means you should make the weekend extra spicy with one of our winning salsas! Try Team Soy Kitchen’s Summer Lovin’ Salsa to liven things up! Continue reading for recipe…
Tropical flair made Team Ready, Willing, and Mable’s “Mango Bango!” salsa exotic enough to appeal to the judges’ fruity side. Make sure mangos are ripe for the pickin’ and make this 3rd Place salsa for your next spicy get-together! Continue reading for recipe…
See all the photos on our Flickr page!
photos by Bryan Haggerty
350 salsa aficionados lined up at the Ferry Building for perfect weather, a perfect setting, and most importantly, to taste and vote on 20 of SF’s best salsas. Que bueno!!
Twenty salsas competed head to head for a chance at victory. We saw stone fruit, beets, corn, ghost chiles (ouch!), and lots and lots and lots and lots of tomatoes! Most of the salsas were made from locally grown produce from Bay Area markets like CUESA’s Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. En fuego!
Eaters sized up the competition by tasting, munching, crunching, thinking, tanning, and cooling off!
The time came to vote where eaters and our judging panel made their final decisions.
And the winners emerged victorious!! They walked away with the most amazing prizes from our beloved sponsors. And that was el fin del dia. Caliente!
See all the photos on our Flickr page!
Stay tuned for the announcement on our upcoming event, Return of the Mac, in November!!
Hasta luego.
People’s Choice: Team #3, Eat This Mexican, Gutsy Red Salsa
People’s Choice Honorable Mention: Team #5, The Soy Kitchen, Summer Lovin’ Salsa
Judges’ 1st Place: Team #7, Soul Cocina, Smoked Salsa de Cascabel
Judges’ 2nd Place: Team #4, Macho Salsa, Macho Madness
Judges’ 3rd Place: Team #6 Ready, Willing, and Mable, Mango Bango
Photog’s Choice: Team #15, Black Eyed P’s, Peas and Hominy Salsa
There’s nothing more wonderful than in-season produce for a Food Wars judge to taste and ponder. That’s exactly what our fantastic panel of judges will sample with tomatoes and peppers in their prime just in time for The Great Salsa ChampionChip! Whether a little sweet or a little spicy…or a LOT spicy, our judges will determine 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places from twenty of SF’s most top-notch salsas!
Farm owner Joe Schirmer grew up in Santa Cruz and began working at Dirty Girl Produce in 1997, eventually buying the farm in 1999. A graduate of both UCSC and the UCSC Farm and Garden Apprenticeship Program, Joe worked on several farms before ending up back in Santa Cruz. Joe expanded the business from 3 to 12 acres, selling year round at farmers markets, and adding several items to the growing list including strawberries and early girl dry farmed tomatoes. Joe currently sits on the board of directors for CUESA which runs the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, and is current President of the board of directors for the SCCFM (Santa Cruz Community Farmers Markets).
Sarah Henkin is the Market Chef for CUESA and the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Her relationship with salsa began with her first bite of jalapeno at age 5 and flourished while she was growing up eating Mexican food in Los Angeles and during summers spent in Mexico. As a local produce expert with a life-long love of salsa, Sarah is thrilled to be judging The Great Salsa Championchip.
Tamara Palmer has the honor of being the resident judge at SF Food Wars. A writer and editor specializing in the edible and musical arts, she is the editor of The Feast San Francisco, a new site forthcoming from NBC, and the author of Country Fried Soul: Adventures in Dirty South Hip-Hop. She’s looking forward to testing her tolerance for hotness at this ChampionChip.
They’ve done it again with over $3,000 in kick-ass prize donations. Our phenomenal sponsors are as fresh, spicy, and wonderful as the salsas to be had! Read on to get seriously impressed by the generous prizes they’ve provided for the winners-to-be…
People’s Choice:
$100 cash, 1-Year Membership to 18 Reasons, Sexy Hotness Sleeping Bag c/o Alite Designs, Hikari Backpack c/o Alite Designs, Method Miracle Kit, Chef Clad 1-Quart Saucepan c/o Anolon, Gourmet Medium Ribbon Grater c/o Microplane, $10 at the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market c/o CUESA, Latin Grill c/o Chronicle Books, Guac Off c/o Chronicle Books, Batter Bakery Treat Box
People’s Choice Honorable Mention:
$50 at Bi-Rite, Hikari Backpack c/o Alite Designs, Method Miracle Kit, Chef Clad 1-Quart Saucepan c/o Anolon, Gourmet Medium Ribbon Grater c/o Microplane, $10 at the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market c/o CUESA, Latin Grill c/o Chronicle Books, Guac Off c/o Chronicle Books, Batter Bakery Treat Box
Judges’ 1st Place:
$100 cash, Sharing Box c/o Recchiuti, Tancho Backpack c/o Alite Designs, Method Miracle Kit, 1 case of Honest Tea, Chef Clad 3-Quart Covered Saucepan c/o Anolon, Gourmet Ultra Course Grater c/o Microplane, $10 at Blue Bottle Coffee, $10 at the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market c/o CUESA, Latin Grill c/o Chronicle Books, Guac Off c/o Chronicle Books, Batter Bakery Treat Box
Judges’ 2nd Place:
$25 Omnivore Books, 1 case of Honest Tea, Tancho Backpack c/o Alite Designs, Method Miracle Kit, Chef Clad 3-Quart Covered Saucepan c/o Anolon, Gourmet Ultra Course Grater c/o Microplane, $10 at Blue Bottle Coffee, $10 at the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market c/o CUESA, Latin Grill c/o Chronicle Books, Guac Off c/o Chronicle Books, Batter Bakery Treat Box
Judges’ 3rd Place:
Sake Fanny Pack c/o Alite Designs, Method Miracle Kit, 1 case of Honest Tea, Chef Clad 3-Quart Covered Saucepan c/o Anolon, Gourmet Ultra Course Grater c/o Microplane, $10 at Blue Bottle Coffee, $10 at the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market c/o CUESA, Latin Grill c/o Chronicle Books, Guac Off c/o Chronicle Books, Batter Bakery Treat Box
Photog’s Choice:
$50 at Photojojo, Sake Fanny Pack c/o Alite Designs, Method Miracle Kit, Chef Clad 8-inch Open Skillet c/o Anolon, Premium Classic Zester c/o Microplane, $10 at the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market c/o CUESA, Latin Grill c/o Chronicle Books, Guac Off c/o Chronicle Books, Batter Bakery Treat Box
