GNARLY HEAD GNARLIEST BURGER CONTEST CELEBRATES WESTERN’S BURGER PASSION

Finalists from BC & Alberta will battle for the title on July 28th!!

Who will be the gnarliest of them all? Bill from Alberta or Eva from BC?

It will remain a mystery until the two Gnarly Head Gnarliest Burger contest finalists duke it out July 28th. The first ever Gnarliest Burger recipe contest kicked off in March 2010 when contestants from all over British Columbia and Alberta entered their own renditions of a superior burger recipe for their chance to showcase their culinary fortitude at the Grand Finale in Vancouver, BC. Recipes were judged by their overall gnarly factor: taste, creativity of ingredients, taste and visual appeal.

The judging panel was comprised of food & wine industry pros:

Tim Ellison, certified Chef de Cuisine, Sommelier and Instructor at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts

Rob Feenie, Canada’s first Iron Chef and Cactus Club Food Concept Architect

Judith Lane, BC’s own independent Wine, Food and Travel Writer

Rhonda May, Editor and Publisher of CityFood Magazine and CityFood Online.

Kasey Wilson, Food and Travel Writer, and Editor of Wine Access magazine and Best Places Vancouver

Werner Schonberger, Vice President of Select Wine Merchants, the Canadian importer of Gnarly Head Wines

I was really impressed by the creativity of the recipes” said Werner Schonberger. “The Gnarliest Burger Contest received some truly outstanding entries, but the recipes created by the two finalists were highly creative and packed with flavour.”

The 2010 Gnarliest Burger Contest finalists are from different provinces with one thing in common:

Taking burger cuisine to a whole new level. And the winners are:

  • Simply Gnarly, Bill Shufelt from Edmonton, Alberta
  • Malaysian Satay Burger, Eva Fong from Burnaby, BC

The Grand Finale will take place Wednesday July 28th, 2010 at the Cambie Kitchen Liquor Store from 4:30-7:00pm, where the two finalists will compete in the royal burger showdown. A public event, the finals will be hosted by Gnarly Head and the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts and the Gnarliest Burger winning recipe will be tasted and be chosen live by the panel of judges. The winner will receive a Weber BBQ and their recipe will be featured in TASTE Magazine and the contest website.

To view full recipes and be among the first to find out who is crowned “Gnarliest Burger”, head to the official Gnarly Head contest website for updates and photos. www.gnarlyhead.com/canada

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About Gnarly Head

Gnarly Head was launched in 2005 and takes its name from the free standing “head trained” vines found in older California vineyards that provide grapes for the flagship Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel. These 35-80 year old vines have twisted trunks and branches that spread out in all directions sprouting leaves like unruly umbrellas – truly gnarly heads. Gnarly Head wines available in BC are Old Vine Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon.www.gnarlyhead.com

About Select Wine Merchants

Select Wine Merchants is one of the leading privately owned wine and spirits import agencies in Canada. They represent key wineries from most wine producing countries as well as spirits from the Remy Cointreau Group, with annual sales close to 1.4 million cases. The company employs 75 people covering Canada from coast to coast who sell and market the portfolio’s products to the various provincial Liquor Boards, private retailers and licensed on-trade establishments. www.selectwines.ca