It’s that time of year! The third annual ChowderBlast, Battle of the Bisques came around once again. ChatterBlast, a social media marketing company hosted the chowder tasting event in their office space. From bisques to chowders to chilis, local partners from the Philly area came for victory! Upon entering, you are given the option to purchase tokens to vote for People’s Choice. Each token was $5 and the proceeds went to help fight MS. There were three judges who would crown their choice for best chowder.
The Judges
I came for the free chowder, let’s be real here. As a lover of all types of food, I have especially enthused that this event was soup themed. The first table I approached was the company, Tag and their Perks of Being a Cauliflower soup. Roasted cauliflower is already a favorite of mine, so I had a good feeling that this soup was going to be a contender. The woman serving the soup garnished it with a few hazelnuts, bacon, and a drizzle of olive oil as finishing touches. It was smooth and savory. The hazelnuts and bacon added crunch and more depth to the soup.
Perks of Being a Cauliflower
They set the bar high, and as I went from table to table, the most flavorful of them all was that cauliflower soup. Other competitors lacked seasoning or flavor. They didn’t have that POW! that I got from the cauliflower soup. That is until I came to Kimberly Nguyen’s table and her Wild MushrooMmm Bisque. She made a smooth bisque with shiitake and portobello mushrooms and boy was it delicious. Garnished with shiitake mushrooms and a homemade savory scone, Kim’s soup was another winner in my book. You can taste the love in the soup and to me, that makes all the difference. Nguyen has her own blog and posts recipes and about her cats. Her love of food goes further than the competition and she finds time after her 9 to 5 to write about food.
After much deliberation and token counting, the winners were announced: Crabsolutely Fabulous, a Maryland crab chowder made my En Route Marketing took the win for the People’s Choice winner. The judges awarded victory to Kimberly Nguyen and her Wild MushrooMmm Bisque. It was a great night filled with soup and booze, so everyone was a winner!
Laila Abuelhawa 