At the California Strawberry Festival, the eponymous berry is the main attraction as local growers showcase their freshest pickings and local food vendors get creative. Among the typical festival food stall fare, visitors can find strawberries in pizza, nachos, beer, wine, smoothies and chocolates.

Each year, the California Strawberry Festival organizes a two-day weekend extravaganza to raise money for community groups while celebrating Oxnard’s $230 million annual strawberry industry. Since its inception in 1984, Southern California non-profit organizations received close to $3 million dollars from the festival.

The weekend brings families, friends, neighbors and colleagues together. There is a deep sense of pride in the local agriculture as Oxnard’s strawberries end up in grocery stalls throughout the country. It is a celebration of man’s relationship with land and its natural bounties. Showcasing the versatility of strawberries and its nearly universal appeal, inventive cooks sell unlikely strawberry dishes to raise money for non-profit groups.

Strawberry Pizza

Strawberries with their lush, sweet and tart juicy body need very little gilding. However, for 25 years, Rio Mesa High School’s Athletic Booster Club has been topping their special pizzas with strawberries as a “faux pepperoni” for curious visitors.

The crust is a par-baked pastry; however, it is neither crisp nor flaky. Instead of tomato sauce, the diligent team mixes about 300 pounds of cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar to spread on top of the crust. Strawberry slices, top the pizza along with whipped cream.

Strawberries have some added sweetness and are soft and tender, though not limp or mushy. The cream cheese spread is tart with a subtle sweetness. Whipped cream thins out some of the rich and sweet flavors and lightens the dish. Most striking is the cooling effect the dish has on the whole body.

Unlike traditional pizza, the crust plays a secondary role, purely providing a solid base to the wet and juicy toppings. With the texture closer to enriched bread than flaky pastry dough, it is dense and chewy.

“We use about 90 volunteers each day, also a lot of volunteers the week prior,” says Karen Gramacki.

As Gramacki leads the energetic group that includes parents, teachers and students, a constant flow of curious people line up for a taste of strawberry pizza. Volunteers such as Mel Kaneshiro start the production by spreading sweetened cream cheese on the crust.

“It’s a great strawberry dessert because it’s different,” says Kaneshiro.

“You think of pizza and you think hot, but the berries and the cream cheese sauce are cool. I always suggest they add ice cream on top.”

“We have an assembly line,” explains Gramacki. “People putting the spread on. Others with strawberries. It is an incredible amount of work.”

“We go through probably the equivalent of 200 to 250 flats of strawberries. We slice all of those. We go through another 30 flats to top each slice with a whole berry. Everything is donated by local growers and in two days we’ll sell 4,000 slices. We end up bringing in $13,000 for Rio Mesa High School.”

It is an evocative dish-highly original to Oxnard and the Strawberry Festival. With its local berries and homemade touch, it celebrates the wonderful diversity of strawberries. Its simple rusticity has a homey comfort that evokes the sounds, sites and people of the festival.

Strawberry Nachos

A sign of a must-try dish is its head turning appeal. Among the busy foot traffic, the frequent sighting of a strawberry nacho inevitably leads to people stopping in mid-sentence mid-bite or mid-sip to watch the passing strawberry mound.

These ephemeral sightings send waves of enthusiastic people to Pacifica High School’s food stall. From young toddlers drawn by the thick red mound of strawberries to elderly couples musing about the crunchy cinnamon-sugar crackles, the crowds adore the strawberry nachos.

“Tastes good, sweet and crunchy,” musters jolly Larry Benveniste, still with a mouth full of strawberries.

According to Chris Davis, the school’s nurse, Pacifica opened eight years ago in Oxnard and started serving the nachos six years ago.

“Our original booster club president thought it up. When people hear about them they’re like ‘What?’ Once they find out about them, then they’re like ‘Ahhh!’”

Working with her daughter, who attends Pacifica High School, Davis shows off the arrangement of sandy cinnamon chips surrounding a pool of glossy red strawberry sauce. Topped with some whipped cream, it is light, sweet and crunchy.

Build Your Own Shortcake

At the “Build Your Own Shortcake” tent, visitors can pay five dollars for the rights to custom design shortcake to their liking. With no height, weight or ingredient limitations, it is a free-for-all celebrating the iconic dish.

According to legend, early colonists created the strawberry shortcake after watching Native Americans pound strawberries into their cornbread. Today strawberry shortcake is a classic combination as the light froth of whipped cream and the sweet, tart strawberries work to cut dense, buttery pound cake.

Excited lines at the tent entrance feature eager participants boasting with outstretched arms the heights they aim to achieve with their shortcake. Inside, stations of sliced and whole strawberries, pound cake and whipped cream await as instruments of creativity and gluttony.

According to festival organizers, shortcake builders go through 8,000 pounds of sliced strawberries, 275 flats of whole strawberries, 3,000 loaves of Entenmann’s pound cake and 1,500 cans of Lucerne whipped cream.

As people leave the tent, they raise their creations triumphantly to the passing crowds. Wobbling and on the verge of teetering, friends and family rush in to eat the shortcakes until structurally sound.

Strawberry Curiosity

Strawberry smoothies are common at any juice bar or blended-drink shop, but adults looking for a more sophisticated way to relax and cool off, can opt for strawberry wine, champagne and beer.

Crowd reaction to the drinks is mixed at best, but the long lines suggest curiosity and novelty is still a major draw.

“Tastes like beer with strawberry,” says Rico, one of the many beer-totters in the crowd.

“Just a faint strawberry aftertaste,” adds Priscilla, Rico’s wife. “Not too sweet, not very strong.”

The crowds seem willing to try all of the strawberry inspired foods and drinks. For the traditionalists, plenty of local growers sell flats of strawberries ready to eat plain and without adornment.

Most of the creative dishes work because they add a strawberry twist to familiar dishes. Moreover, they do not get in the way of the pineapple-like fruity flavors of the strawberry that are sweet, tart and tropical. With minimal processing, the strawberries keep their firm, but juicy flesh.

It is not the pizza or nacho element that makes the dish, but the freshness of the strawberry that transform each bite into a mouthful of luxury. By honoring the strawberry, the festival honors both the soil that delivers the berries and the growers that harvest them for all to enjoy.

© 2008 Flavor Hub, Inc.

There is nothing quite like biting into a shiny, juicy red strawberry that unleashes equally tart and sweet flavors with a mild pineapple background. Fresh from the basket, hours or days from picking, riper strawberries glide off the tongue, while younger berries add a satisfying crunch.

Oxnard’s been hosting the annual California Strawberry Festival in May since 1984. The festival is a tribute to Oxnard’s strawberry industry and features strawberries in conventional and innovative ways.

Local growers, residents, community groups, food vendors and visitors converge in Oxnard, located 60 miles north of Los Angeles and 30 miles south of Santa Barbara, to share in a weekend of food, contests, entertainment and education.

“I’ve been attending for the last four years,” says Su-Lin Rubalcava, a member of the festival’s Executive Board.

“What stands out are the people. They are so happy here. It’s all about having a good time with your family.”

Rise of the Strawberry

Though its entertaining for visitors, local growers such as Hasegawa see the weekend as a chance to promote their crops and also develop a closer connection with their customers and friends. Hasegawa runs the approximately 95-acre Isla Vista Farms in Oxnard with his brother.

“It’s a family farm. We’ve been farming for 50 years. My grandfather was a farmer. My dad also grew strawberries. Now, its my brother and me.”

With recent studies indicating strawberries have cancer-fighting, heart-healthy antioxidants demand for strawberries and other berries, which Hasegawa also grows, has increased.

“There’s been more demand in the last three or four years with more health benefits being published,” Hasegawa explains.

Hasegawa believes healthier eaters are eating more strawberries, but he also believes its just a universally loved fruit that they will always be easy to sell. That is especially important for local growers because Oxnard’s strawberry industry generates approximately $230 million each year. With 8,500 acres of strawberry fields, the region produces 27% of California’s total harvest, which accounts for 88% of the United States’ strawberry supply.

Strawberry Production Cycle

There are multiple varieties of strawberries, mainly differing in sweetness, texture, production, flavor and sturdiness. At Isla Vista Farms, Hasegawa features the camarosa, ventana, driscoll, albion and 1975 varieties.

“Consumers are probably most familiar with the driscoll variety,” says Hasegawa.

“Albions are good for fresh eating as are camarosas. Camarosas are also good for processing. They make jam out of it because it holds up a little better to cooking.”

Camarosas are also usually what is at the farmers markets and what Hasegawa’s staff sells at the festival.

California’s mild climate and longer daylight makes it possible to have strawberries available through most of the year. Farmers plant strawberries from the end of September through the end of October. Harvesting usually begins in late December and continues through mid July, with the peak season running from April through June. Hasegawa says the berries harvested in the first weeks of April are at their absolute peak.

According to the California Strawberry Festival, every strawberry gets handpicked every three days, which allows the strawberries to cycle from green to white to red. It is important to cool them and prepare them for immediate delivery in refrigerated trucks because strawberries degrade quickly even in cold storage.

Isla Vista Farms grows organic as well as conventional strawberries; however, the conversion to organic strawberries is complicated and costly.

“Organic is very difficult,” says Hasegawa.

“The hard part is you have to grow land organically for three years before you get certified, but the yield is so low and you cannot charge the premium. At the same time you are still paying rent and other costs.”

Unlike other fruits, strawberries do not improve after picking, so they need to fully ripen on their stems. Growers pick strawberries destined for grocery stores a little earlier than strawberries they sell to the end consumer at farmers markets or roadside stands.

Strawberries are also fickle, as the flavors of berries tend to go through cycles. This makes it difficult for farmers to predict flavor.

“Every berry goes in cycles of flavors. We don’t have control on how they taste.”

Choosing Strawberries

If the flavors of each berry can vary unpredictably, how can consumers find the best batch? Hasegawa’s first tip is to ignore some of the myths about the perfect strawberry.

“A lot of people like big strawberries, but there is no real difference [in flavor] from the size. Look for sheen, if it has a sheen, it is fresher. Get a good consistent red color. Make sure it is not dull or wet looking, because it is getting close to spoiling.”

Otherwise, consumers can order strawberries from Hasegawa online. Though he does most of his business through wholesalers that sell to grocery stores, Hasegawa can deliver his fresh California strawberries to any location in the United States either overnight or within two days.

“You take it for granted to have nice strawberries in California. But people [from other regions] trip out [when they see our produce].”

© 2008 Flavor Hub, Inc.

Festivalgoers looking for a respite from the stifling heat converge at Strawberry Promenade, the heart of the festival’s food corridor. Outside, the energetic crowds pack up flats of freshly picked camarosa strawberries from local growers such as Glen Hasegawa’s Isla Vista Farms. Inside, the competitors jest with the crowd as they answer questions and muse between chopping, slicing, mixing and smearing.

“I was just looking to do something different,” explains McDermott.

“To get out of my box.”

With support from an energetic group of family and friends, she prepares a dish perfect for the record temperatures on this May weekend. Her strawberry tiramisu takes a slight twist on the Italian classic, incorporating strawberries from Oxnard’s local fields.

As the strawberries macerate in a raspberry liquor reduction, she mixes cream cheese and mascarpone cheese with some powdered sugar. Adding that the recipe is flexible to any berry or sturdy fruit, she carefully dips each of her ladyfinger cookies in the sweet reduction, while offering Su-Lin Rubalcava, the competition emcee, a preview to the finished dessert.

Rubalcava’s facial surrender to the sweet ladyfingers bodes well for McDermott, but she fastidiously maintains a clean station while she constructs what she calls “sweet, strawberry lasagna.”

Taber’s entry is a different, but equally cooling, strawberry gazpacho salad with tangy lime vinaigrette. To tame her nerves, she keeps her head down as she chops strawberries, cucumbers, mangoes and sweet mini peppers.

“It’s a little nerve racking being up here,” she admits.

Nevertheless, she takes the attention in stride and playfully jokes with the crowd, at one point shooting a glare to her husband when Rubalcava polls the crowd for their favorite.

The winner instantly gains wide renown as a strawberry force because no region in the country is more discerning when it comes to strawberries. California produces 88% of the country’s strawberries and Oxnard is the state’s strawberry capital.

The four-judge panel evaluates each dish for taste, freshness, flavor, texture, ease of preparation, presentation and creative use of strawberries. Among the judges are life long Oxnard residents that do not know a world without strawberry shortcake or roadside berry stands.

Both dishes feature the versatility and simplicity of fresh strawberries. Strawberries are suitable for sweet and savory flavors. Additionally, aside from the liquor reduction McDermott uses to macerate her strawberries and ladyfingers, neither recipe requires an oven or stove, just quality ingredients and some patient preparation.

By the time the tiramisu is ready for a quick 10-minute chill in the refrigerator, Taber is still calmly chopping and adding her raw vegetables into her large mixing bowl. Inside, a full palette of colors gives off a vibrant radiance.

Camera totting fans and media crowd the competitors’ workstations to snap tight shots of their creations. The creamy tiramisu fortified by a surrounding wall of ladyfingers resemble the Italian Medieval cities on the outskirts of Florence.

“I find it so funny that people are taking pictures of my dish,” jokes McDermott.

She describes her dish as 12 years in the making. After years of thinking about competing, she finally decided to enter this dish. Still humble, she sees the dish as just another in her rotating repertoire, so it amuses her to see strangers fussing over the simple dish.

As she wipes her work area of any excess mascarpone or powdered sugar, Taber lines her yellow-orange square dishes for presentation. Taking a page from the famed chefs that walk into Kitchen Stadium, she spends the final moments of competition attending to her plating with the same detail and precision as with the dish itself. Lining martini glasses with a piece of Bibb lettuce and a full strawberry, she lays out a floral arrangement on her serving dishes. She carefully spoons her salad into the martini glasses, giving the dish color and height.

Enthused judges welcome their opportunity to taste after eagerly waiting for nearly one hour. Taber breathes a sigh of relief as the last of her judges’ plates makes it to the their table. McDermott, though, is dissatisfied with how the tiramisu set in the refrigerator. The outdoor heat and the trip from the refrigerator to the judges’ table take its toll on the tiramisu. Hesitating with the knife on her initial slice, she settles on four wedges suitable for judging, though each slice looks deflated.

Judges ask if there can be a tie since they have trouble deciding between the dishes.

“I think the problem we have is that they are so different,” one of the judges explains. He adds it would be easier to compare two similar dishes.

Another judge only asks if she could finish both dishes.

“Presentation on one of them was fabulous. The other one just struck a chord with growing up in Oxnard. And just very good old fashion strawberry shortcake,” said another judge.

“How one can choose between the two is beyond me. They are night and day,” says a member of the audience.

As both women wait for the results, Rubalcava does her best to add to the suspense with a drawn out reveal of the runner up. As she goes through the prize package that includes family tickets to Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm and the Los Angeles Zoo, McDermott turns to Taber.

“I think you won since she was looking at me when she said that,” she says.

Taber comes away with a narrow three-point victory and wins the cruise to Catalina and Encinitas courtesy of Shell Vacations. Nevertheless, the real winner on this day is the strawberry. Though wonderful eaten raw, the two recipes showcase the strawberry’s versatility. As a dessert, it adds a sweet and tart crispness that is light and refreshing. In a salad, it adds a sweet, juicy crunch to complement spicy peppers and mild cucumbers. Full of nutrients such as vitamin C, folate and fiber, they are a simple way to add something healthy to the plate.

 © 2008 Flavor Hub, Inc.

Brewing behind each of the stalls are pots of chilies, spices, stock and meat. Competition is in four categories: chili con carne (traditional red chili), chili verde (green chili), salsa and menudo (beef tripe stew). Sponsored by the International Chili Society, first place prizes range from $200 for Salsa to $1,000 for traditional chili (chili con carne). At stake is the chance to represent California at the World Championships, but for many competitors, being among friends is reward itself.

From huggable grandfathers to sassy matriarchs to loving couples, each recipe takes on the personality and story of its cook. With blind judging, taste is most important, but in the People’s Choice category, competitors are selling a package-a story behind the recipe. Most people come just for the tasting, and the competitors swiftly ladle out two-bite samples. But slow down between bites to ask competitors about their chili and their eyes grow big and wide. The majority will share stories about their recipes’ origin, special techniques, and intended flavors and consistency.

A cursory view of chili appears inapposite to the properties associated with gourmet food. Classically trained chefs deliver upscale food. Home cooks can create chili from recipes off the back of a can. Fine dining is dainty and cleanly presented. Chili is hearty and can be messy to eat. Upscale food is extravagant, almost only available at restaurants. Chili has humble, frugal origins, and is more ubiquitous in the home kitchen.

Nevertheless, competitors spend years honing their recipes. They are particular about their ingredients, specifying their spices to their region or town. Ask a chili cook about the key to good chili and his surprising answer will be balance. Also high on the list is subtle, even flavors, smooth textures, body to each bite, descriptors often reserved for haughty gastronomes.

Passionate and Love

“It really is a bit of art and science,” says the jovial Leo Nolen, lovingly known as Uncle Leo on the chili competition circuit. Nonchalantly lending a knife and spoon to a fellow competitor, Uncle Leo describes his 12 years on the competition scene. Overwhelmed in his first competition, he keeps meticulous notes from each contest and adjusts his recipes accordingly.

“At my first competition, you go to the judging area and read the comments and I did not get any points,” he explains. “The only thing they wrote was it tasted like crap.”

Since then, Uncle Leo compiles judges’ comments on 15 to 20 recipe booklets made of four-inch by six-inch note cards. Pulling out his chili con carne recipe that took first place in 2006, he jokes there is nothing to hide.

“Chili con carne is just meat and sauce. You can use any combination of meat, but the majority use beef tri-tip because it holds the consistency when you cook it.”

The meat must hold up to the three-hour cooking time. Tri-tip comes from the bottom sirloin. It is a triangular piece of muscle that is low in fat, but high in flavor because that area of the cow gets more movement and activity. Since it is leaner, it also releases less grease in the chili, which can overpower the chili and spice flavors.

Uncle Leo passionately flips through his recipe booklet. After the perfunctory listing of meat, onions, chili powders and other aromatics, the remaining note cards are a blueprint or manual for the entire cooking process. At various intervals and increments, his notes say to add a particular ingredient while stirring for so many times. Scribbled handwritten notes of various size and color show this is a work in progress updated for each new observation or reaction.

“It is about not just the ingredients you use, but when you introduce them,” he divulges. “In my last five minutes, I have three things that I have to do to hold the flavors consistently through the judging period.”

One of his secrets is dropping a boneless whole pork loin, trimmed of its fat, in the chili during the cooking process. He removes the pork before serving because he just wants the added flavor, but not the actual meat in the chili. Another is soaking his spices in chicken broth to avoid a gritty or grainy texture. There is also cumin, but not any cumin. After experimenting with Mexican cumin, he is now back to the Texas cumin he used on his way to victory in 2006.

This is not a chili recipe for those looking to leave an unattended pot sitting on a burner for three hours. This recipe requires constant doting, precise details and an experienced palate. Whole roasted green chilies, de-veined and seeded to remove any bitter traces, add smoky spice. Ten cloves of garlic, wrapped in a bouquet garni, infuse the sauce as they soften into a tender mush. Towards the end, Uncle Leo removes the bag and squeezes the juices into the pot.

“I’ll remove the veins on the garlic as well because the green veins add bitterness, which the judges will notice immediately.”

If this sounds more Le Cordon Bleu than chuck wagon, it is because all good food has two similar ingredients: love and passion. Twelve years in, Uncle Leo still makes adjustments such as adding more brown sugar to bring down the heat. He enjoys serving up a hearty bowl for the judges and the people. This is his craft, something he hones with each new insight from each new competition.

“We like to imply it’s an aphrodisiac,” jokes Red Brecke. He brings his “Horny Toad Chili” from San Diego, California to the contest along with 15 years of competition experience.

Retired from the Navy, Brecke volunteers at the USS Midway Museum when he is not participating in one of the 12 to 15 contests he enters each year. Like his time in the Navy and at the museum, he enjoys the camaraderie among chili cook-off regulars.

At stake for Brecke is more than a chance to represent California at the World Championships. After his wife Sachiko won first place five years ago, he is trying to reclaim household bragging rights.

“I’m trying to regain my pride,” he muses. “We try to present an intense chili flavor and hope any day we have a lot of luck. There are just so many good ones.”

Brecke also judges when not competing and describes the ideal chili with the precision of an engineer and cadence of a natural storyteller.

“You have to structure your dish so it stands up over the judging time. We want a smooth sauce with an intense chili flavor and spicy heat. When the chili’s temperature cools down, things such as salt, garlic and cumin intensify, and the chili takes on a bitter taste. You do not want it too salty, and you want some cumin to bring down the chili, but not too much where it is distinctly cumin.”

Red pulls out a third place finish in the salsa competition; however, like five years ago, Sachiko takes household bragging rights with her second place finish.

Chili enthusiasts will go into monologues about the flavor or texture of their chili. Discernable and opinionated, they are passionate about their recipes and what chili should be. Taking a seemingly simple dish like chili, they dissect taste and texture, ingredients, presentation and technique because they spend their life crafting their recipes. That passion to deliver good, hearty food drives them to compete and share their recipes.

What Makes a Good Chili?

Hear someone mention chili, and bold or spicy may be adjectives that come to mind. Chili may also trigger the sensation of creamy, hefty beans, smoky, musky cumin or fiery cayenne. While those flavors and textures may dominate chili at home, on the competition circuit, balance is usually the key to a wining formula.

Competition chili does not include beans, masa or other starches. Chili con carne combines red chilies with beef, while chili verde contains green chilies and pork. Most competitors use New Mexico or Anaheim peppers as well as Pasillas, Chiles de Arbol or Ancho chilies. Cayenne as well as and other chili powers are also common.

“Everyone has their own recipe and they lie about them,” says Bob Poston of San Diego, California. Being facetious, Poston emphasizes competition chili contains “no beans or fillers, just meat and spices.”

Armando Sanchez of Westminster, California is in his thirteenth year of competition. As a former winner, and a frequent judge, Sanchez believes no single flavor or spice should be prominent in chili.

“What you look for is make sure nothing stands out. If you have a chili where everything is blended where you cannot pick up a predominant spice, then it’s a good chili.”

Sanchez explains that judges should find the chili pleasing, but not be exactly sure which ingredient makes it pleasant. As he pours his neat and uniform quarter-inch cubed beef tri-tip for a quick sear, he describes why tri-tip is ideal.

“It will stand up to quite a bit of simmering without falling apart or shred. Also, it will absorb the flavors of the chili. The meat should have the flavors of the chili, not just the natural meat flavors.”

“Tri-tip is solid muscle without gristle, so it is easy to cut,” explains Don Hammes of Fountain Valley, California. “The round of the beef is the same way, but it is tougher to cut.”

Hammes is a former champion and also the man other competitors such as Judy Barnes go to for all their meat inquires. Since 1960, Hammes has been in the meat business in one form or another either as an independent butcher or a supervisor for grocery chains.

“Pork is a lot harder to get tender, and most people use pork for chili verde because if you cut pork into little pieces, it is white and will not does not take on the color of the chili, so if you have 20 bowls of beef chili con carne on the table, the bowl with pork will stand out and lose.”

Each bite should have a solid, firm piece of meat, rather than shredded or mushy meat particles. Additionally, fresh ingredients are important because the aged flavors of onions, peppers and other ingredients are easily discernable among the judges’ refined palates.

Judging takes place in a secluded area where up to 20 judges circle a rectangular table lined with anonymous bowls of chili. As the judges rotate around the table, each judge takes a spoonful from each bowl while taking notes and scoring the competitors. Judges compare competitors against one another, so the milder, blander flavors fade against better-seasoned dishes. It makes the competitor’s job all the more difficult since they need to season and spice the dish so judges get a lasting impression in that single bite.

All in the Family

As attendees move from stall to stall, competitors happily serve samples of chili. As much as the recipes are family traditions, the competition is also a team effort. Husband and wife teams like the Breckes and Postons of San Diego, California are not uncommon.

Christopher and Deborah Black have finished in either first or second place in each of the last six years. He chops, sears, blends and mixes while she jokes with the crowd.

From behind her wall of hot sauces with names such as “Butt Pucker” and “Asbirin,” Deborah Black offers to complete and submit People’s Choice ballots for fans of their chili. For those conscious of their waistlines, she offers a low calorie “diet chili,” which is just a half serving of the normal sample size.

Featuring cans of “Possum Puree,” which the label says is sweet potato puree with coon fat gravy, the Black’s station is full of energy from the entertained passersby and Deborah’s continuous zingers. At their height, they competed each month, but since Christopher developed a heart condition, they slowed down. Still, they compete when they can.

“We just come to have a good time,” says Deborah Black. “It’s a great way to spend the weekend among great people. Good chili is based on [the cook's] personality.”

The Blacks extend their streak as Christopher’s traditional chili con carne and chili verde combine to finish second in the People’s Choice category.

On the weekend before their 47th wedding anniversary, Mike and Bonnie Ford from Orange County, California add a creamy, all-American surprise in their B&M’s Double Fudge Chili.

“What’s different and unique about our chili?” asks Mike with a sheepish grin.

“Do you like peanut butter?” Sure.

“Do you like Jiff?” Sure.

“Well I add two tablespoons of creamy peanut butter,” reveals Mike.

“And its got to be creamy and smooth,” adds Bonnie.

After years of watching food television and appearing on numerous shows, the Fords picked up a few tricks to develop their peanut butter chili recipe. Though the flavors are not discernable, it adds a creamy thickness to the chili’s consistency.

Among the crowd, parents usher their flock of children from station to station. Invariably, the snow cone slurping, soda sipping, funnel-cake gorging children run around looking for the steam from a new batch of ready-to-serve samples. The cooks, many of whom having their families in tow, dote on the kids and share a silent, but deafening sympathetic glance to the patient parents.

Kids enjoy the chili, but love chips and salsa, so Jesse Trueba’s “Mama’s New Mexico Style Chili” station is a traffic jam of miniature proportions. Smiling behind his dark shades and straw hat, Trueba pushes his and his brother’s entries in the competition.

“This recipe has been in our family for years,” Trueba explains.

“We use a Hatch chili from Albuquerque because the soil there gives the chili a distinct flavor.”

Standing in front of his past trophies, Trueba explains how he tries to give the crowd two full bites of his lean pork chile verde. Its slurry is thick and brings on mild heat towards the back of the mouth. Crediting all the cooks that came before him in his family, Trueba smiles when reminiscing about family gatherings around the chili.

Representing all the cooks in his family, Trueba takes home the People’s Choice Chili while his brother Mike places first in the Restaurant and Open Chili Competition.

Though the chili competition receives the headline billing, not far down on the marquee is the menudo tasting separately available to attendees. Every bit the rustic, family-inspired dish as chili, menudo is a traditional Mexican soup made with beef tripe.

“Legend has it that the Aztec gods used to eat the top parts of the meat and would throw the innards [such as the tripe, or the cow's stomach lining] to the peasants. Well, throw in some corn meal and you have menudo,” says Ray Calderon.

Like so many of the chili recipes that come from long family traditions, Ray Calderon learned how to prepare menudo from his great-grandmother while she told the stories of the Aztec gods.

“We have a saying in our family, we eat everything from the rooter to the tooter.”

Menudo is an example of dishes that utilize every part of the animal often seen in many cuisines born from poverty and frugality. Families had to stretch their food supply and find ways to make, tough, undesirable portions of the animal edible.

Calderon, sharing the sentiment, describes menudo as “peasant food, where when you get lemons, you make lemonade with them.” With Calderon’s second place finish, he has placed in the top three every year of four-year old competition.

Celebrating rustic dishes such as chili con carne, chili verde and menudo is a celebration of rustic home cooking. These recipes live on for generations and are a forever link between ancestors and progeny. Whether their stories span centuries, decades or years, the recipes capture a deep and personal part of the cook and cook’s family. Sharing with others ensures the traditions and values continue.

Sunshine, live music and aromatic flavors of stewed meats and spices combine in a celebration of hearty foods, passionate cooks and family traditions.

© All Rights Reserved, 2008.

Founded by Danes in 1911 looking to establish a Danish-type folk school for their children, the village is known for its warmth and hospitality. Buildings along Mission Drive, the village’s main thoroughfare, still have remnants of earlier days, but the dozens of out-of-town license plates suggest the duality of the village-there is the Solvang tourists experience and the Solvang locals live.

Still, farm-style buildings with blindingsvarerk (half-timbered) walls, tiles and simulated thatch and gleaming copper roofs highlight the “Danish” feel of the village. A quintet of windmills transports visitors to the Danish countryside.

Every March, the village invites visitors to celebrate the “Taste of Solvang” food and wine festival. The highlight of the weekend is the “Walking Smorgasbord.” For $30 per person, participants eat their way through 41 participating restaurants and shops all within the walkable village center.

Throngs of backpack carrying, camera-totting tourists eagerly converge at the visitor center to collect their village map marked with all 41 participating “taste stops”. The basic rules are simple: each taste stop features a different item, which is included in the ticket price, but each participant is only allowed one taste. To prevent multiple tastes, the shops mark each participant’s map after they pick up their taste item.

Taste Strategy

Before beginning the tour, there are some simple, but important strategic concerns. First, not all tastes are created equal because some participants are not in the food business. So while Olsen’s Danish Village Bakery offers samples of their popular pastries, other jewelry or novelty shops may pop open a box of chocolate chip cookies or chocolate covered strawberries.

This brings the next major consideration: how much to eat? For first-timers, be prepared to try everything since you have five hours to make it through all the stops. It will take the full five hours since you inevitably shop and chat between stops. Also, your pace will slow by the halfway mark as tastes and flavors begin to repeat.

The final major strategic consideration depends on your tolerance for sweets. Expect the sweet offerings to exceed savory options three-to-one, possibly more.

There are plenty of chocolates, kringles, Danishes, strudels and other pastries or confections, interrupted by the occasional sausage sampler. Unfortunately, vegans and vegetarians have limited options. A quick scan of the map will identify savory stops, which should be dispersed throughout the tour just to give your mouth an occasional break from all the sugar.

Preparation is also important, which means a light breakfast. Skip the pastries if you are already in town because you will see those friends soon enough. Opt for vegetables and fruits in the morning since they only make rare cameos throughout the Walking Smorgasbord. After plotting my course, I set out to taste the best of Solvang and explore its homey comfort cuisine.

Not Just Sweets and Desserts

It may be that most people think Danish cuisine starts and ends with fruit-filled patries, but there is a savory side of the kitchen that is heavy and rich in fat. Sharing many of the same dietary proclivities and practices as Norway, Sweden and Germany, pork, seafood, potatoes and carrots have a heavy influence on Danish meals.

Much of the Walking Smorgasbord’s savory offerings showcase sausages and meatballs. Pickled vegetables such as sauerkraut are a staple side dish while cheese exemplifies the Danish affinity for dairy. The heft and rich fattiness in sausages and other meats were important ways to fuel Danes working in the fields. Rich, fatty foods also kept the body warm and nourished during the long, cold Scandinavian winters. Without refrigeration, pickling and curing was a natural way to preserve foods and extend food.

Dueling Sausages

Sausages, ubiquitous in restaurants and street carts, can also be paired with other side dishes or eaten as a second course after a smörgåsbord. Medisterpolse is a traditional Danish sausage that has a light, grayish flesh (slightly darker than the Bavarian morning sausage, weisswurst) and is traditionally made with 60 to 75% ground pork, onions, cloves, allspice, salt and pepper.

Paula’s Pancake House, a busy breakfast spot, offers bite-sized pieces of medisterpolse. Charred spots on the skin create a slight crackle to each bite. It is not over salted or greasy. The flesh is uniform and springy, giving each bite a gentle pop. Surprisingly, it leaves a hint of liverwurst on the breath, absent any of the pate consistency. Less surprising is the hint of sweetness from the onions, clove and allspice.

Under the faux Blue Windmill now selling novelty items and souvenir sweatshirts, the Heidelberg Inn Restaurant and Beer Garden in Hamlet Square has showcased German and Danish cuisine since 1971. Since 2005, Jason and Donna Bennett along with their two young daughters run the restaurant and its festive outdoor beer garden.

Schinkenwurst is a pork sausage similar to bologna that blends pork, beef or veal, and ham. It has a marbleized flesh similar to Italian mortadella. It is soft and multi-flavored, as the different meat components are not uniformly ground together. Saltier than the medisterpolse, each bite is mushier, without snap or burst to the casing.

Grilled bratwurst has translucent specks of fat studded throughout the link so it is both juicer and greasier than the other sausages. The sour and tangy sauerkraut cuts its fattiness. Heidelberg Inn prepares its bratwurst with finely ground veal, creating a milder flavor though it is peppery.

Knackwurst, the flesh-tone beef sausage that resembles the American hot dog is smaller in girth than the other sausages and also softer than the bratwurst and medisterpolse. Flavor-wise, it tastes briny and salty without any distinct beef flavor. Texture-wise, a thick casing snaps or pops to reveal a soft spongy flesh.

The medisterpolse leaves the biggest impression because it has the mysteriously sweet and cool undertone of citrus and mint. That helps to cleanse the mouth of the savory meat flavors.

From the Heidelberg Inn, the next sausage stop is at the Viking Garden Restaurant on Alisal Road. Their sausage sampler includes Danish medisterpolse, German knackwurst, and Polish kielbasa. The medisterpolse does not contain pork-only beef and veal-which makes it milder. Like the other medisterpolse, it is not salty and is leaner than expected. Browned more than the sausage at Heidelberg Inn and Paula’s Pancake House, the burnt bits form a nice crispy crust that enhances the mild flesh with a subtle smokiness. There are also diced herbs, with indistinguishable flavor, throughout the sausage.

The snap in the knackwurst’s skin gives each bite an interesting pop, but the center is soft and mushy. Saltier than the medisterpolse, it is not very distinct from Heidelberg Inn’s knackwurst, except that it is greasier. Similar to a hot dog in texture and flavor, it remains balanced in its seasoning.

Sausage is also a staple in Poland and there are many ways to make kielbasa. The Viking Garden Restaurant uses a pork and beef combination, but kielbasa may contain anything from turkey, horse, lamb or bison. Traditionally made with the tenderest portions of the pig and mixed with beef or veal, pepper and garlic, this kielbasa is rich and fatty, but underwhelming given the undeveloped smoke and spice of the dish.

Surprisingly, all three medisterpolse samples during the Walking Smorgasbord have a unique and different flavor. Compared against the other German and Polish sausage varieties, the medisterpolse is milder in flavor and seasoning. It also has less grease, so it is not as rich and heavy.

However, between the medisterpolse, Paula’s Pancake House and Heidelberg Inn seem to grill the links whole, while the Viking Garden Restaurant sautés pre-sliced pieces. Sautéing smaller pieces creates more browned bits that have a deeper, smoky flavor that enhances the otherwise bland sausage.

Also on Alisal Road is the Bit o’ Denmark Restaurant. Solvang’s oldest restaurant is inside an old-beam building built as a church in 1929. The part tavern, part home kitchen prepares a smorgasbord of pickled vegetables and smoked foods along the foyer wall. The menu features meat dishes such as veal, lamb, duck and pork roasts. Embodying Danish local traditions, onions, potatoes, apples and prunes-all indigenous to Denmark-make up the majority of the side dishes and garnishes.

Frikadeller, a Danish style meatball made of equal parts ground pork and veal, or beef, chopped onions, eggs, milk, bread crumbs, salt and pepper is worthy of repeat visits by two friends making their 14th trip to the Taste of Solvang. Among the most discerning Walking Smorgasbord participants, they never miss the Bit O’ Denmark’s frikadeller.

Traditionally pan-fried in pork fat, the kitchen turns the pan juices into brown gravy by thickening with a medium roux. The sauce is not too thick, and not necessary given the already tender and juicy meatball. Seared well on the outside, there is a nice crunch to the meatball’s exterior while the interior is soft, juicy and tender. Well seasoned, a unique turkey essence adds to its lightness. Onions keep the meatball moist by releasing juices during cooking. Also, the loose, relaxed flesh shows the kitchen avoids overworking the meatball mixture, which helps keep it moist and juicy.

Accompanying the frikadeller is rodkaal, traditional braised red cabbage. The barely translucent cabbage glows beautifully on the plate, and manages to hold enough body to still pack a crunch with each bite. Braised in cider vinegar, it works as a sweet and tart companion to the meatball.

Although the Bit o’ Denmark leaves the frikadeller as a round ball, Danish cooks traditionally flatten the ball into a patty before pan-frying. The Red Viking Restaurant’s flatter, rectangular frikadeller lacks the same crunchy outer bite as at the Bit o’ Denmark. Furthermore, the interior is tough and dense suggesting the kitchen overworked the patty and squeezed out much of its juice. Contributing to the dryness is the fact the staff pre-slices the meat loaf and leaves them in a chafing dish.

Richness Without the Meat

At Café Angelica on First Street, diners looking for an alternative to the sausages, sauerkraut and sweets, can find California-Mediterranean inspired dishes that have Asian, French and Italian influences. Although the food and flavors it delivers are not Danish, its use of local ingredients is very much in line with Danish traditions.

With all the sausage and sweets, it is easy to almost forget Café Angelica’s Marsala Mushrooms. Traditionally, Marsala wine sauces start with reducing Marsala wine, onions and shallots into a syrup, then adding mushrooms and herbs. However, there are no discernible Marsala flavors in the thin, brown sauce. The quartered button mushrooms are soft and tender, but they deliver a cruel blast of garlic that lingers on the mouth.

The final major component of Danish cuisine involves dairy. Dairy shows up in Danish sweets, but cheese is also important to the cuisine. Creamy havarti cheese wrapped around a crisp apple wedge makes for a crunchy, sweet and salty snack. Havarti is a cow’s milk cheese that has a yellow-cream color, with a buttery sharp flavor similar to Swiss cheese. It is soft, creamy, faintly sweet and acidic, and has small irregular holes throughout its flesh. The smooth velvetiness of the cheese is a good contrast to the crispy apple. The sweetness of the apple also pairs well with the buttery richness of the cheese.

At the Greenhouse Café, which features Denmark’s Carlsberg beer, a typical Danish lunch consists of an open-faced sandwich. These mid-day snacks are common in Scandinavian countries as well as Eastern Europe. They can be as simple as a slice of havarti on pumpernickel bread or more elaborate like smoked eel on dark rye bread with scrambled eggs and radishes.

Traditional German pumpernickel is whole grain bread made by mixing rye flour with whole rye berries. It bakes slowly at a low temperature in a steam oven that keeps the crumb moist and soft. Because it is not wheat-based, it lacks the gluten strands to withstand stretching and pulling. The interior crumb is dense, without the pronounced pockets and strands found in a French baguette. Additionally, during the baking process, the carbohydrates and amino acids in the rye transform the bread into a dark brown tinge with a distinct, slightly bitter flavor.

The Greenhouse Café offers tasters a havarti on pumpernickel with mayonnaise sandwich that is simple, but also filling because of the bread’s density. The pumpernickel is a good, plain canvas to feature the sharp creaminess of the havarti. Solid like a brick, the pumpernickel provides a strong, textured foundation for any topping without competing with its flavors.

Eating by Necessity and Wellness

Like many renowned cuisines in regions all over the world, the Danish food traditions come from a long line of frugal and resourceful agrarians. Working with the local, indigenous ingredients, their food culture derived from their colder climate and relatively shorter harvest season. That is evident in the hearty reliance on rich meats, sharp cheeses and grains or cereals. Fighting the cold Scandinavian climate, heavy and rich foods high in protein and fat supplied warm sustenance to work the fields. Food was a way to feel comfort and joy; it was a way to recharge. They not only ate their food, they savored their food, and those same traditions continue today.

The Danish ideal to achieve warmth, comfort and well-being is a major driver in their cuisine. Food is one of many avenues to reach hygee. As such, Danish food is hearty and satisfying, which creates a warm and comforting.

© All Rights Reserved, 2008.

Hundreds flock to Griffith Park on a brisk, late-April evening to celebrate the marriage of warm, melted cheese and crunchy, toasted bread. At each station, contestants set up their propane burners, prepare their equipment, and lay out an assembly line of bread, cheese, butter, and other accoutrements.

Some arrive with no more than an apron over their jeans and t-shirts while others don an elaborate chef’s hat and jacket. Scott Perry constructs his “damn sexy” avocado and Gruyere Barry White sandwich in a pale yellow ruffled tuxedo shirt under a crimson velvet coat to capture the sandwich namesake’s smoothness.

As the cooking begins, contestants bark orders to assistants and frantically assemble, grill and plate the requisite five sandwiches for each entry. Veterans and past winners are patient, resisting the urge to touch or flip their sandwiches prematurely. But the outdoor conditions bring variables many cooks failed to account for in their home test-kitchens: swirling winds and dropping temperatures. Some pans get too hot, forcing contestants to strategically slice their sandwiches while others scrape off charred bits.

Pressure mounts as contestants can feel the heat of being around their competitors. The invincibility factor their sandwiches carried at home wane slightly as their sandwiches look pedestrian within the sea of aged, imported cheeses, artisan breads, and flavored butters or oils. Still, the majority of contestants soak in the roaring cheers of the crowd and their moment of culinary fame as camera-totting enthusiasts snap photos, ask questions and fawn over their homemade creations.

“The whole rules are going to change with this sandwich,” boasts Sean Coker as he promotes his “Taste Bud Terrorism” entry. Sneaking in a series of chilies to spice up the sandwich, Coker plays to the crowd and goes on a long monologue about his sandwich’s origin. Coker’s deprecating, but witty self-promotion is a formidable diversionary tactic that draws attention away from his competitors.

As contestants swirl their butter, slice their cheese and line their bread, hundreds of onlookers jostle for frontline position with hopes of being the lucky few that receive a plate for judging. As sandwiches come off the grill, teams rush their entries, ballots attached, to the screaming public fighting for the contestant’s attention. The sea of would-be judges hollers and waves dramatically, but with each sandwich sending only 20 bite-sized samples out, the majority of the five-deep wall of cheese lovers settle for the buffet of complimentary sandwiches by contest sponsor Kraft.

Some contestants are fixtures in the local food community, while others travel from other parts of the country to represent their regional cheese-pride.

Barrie Lynn, known by cheese connoisseurs as The Cheese Impressario, leads her “cheesettes” in building their sandwich tribute to husband and wife cheese artisans, Tony and Julie Hook of Hook’s Cheese Company.

“Normally you hear about six months or two years, but this cheddar is aged 10 years,” Lynn explains. The Hooks have been making artisan cheeses in Mineral Point, Wisconsin for over 35 years. Lynn’s cheese expeditions led her to their humble operation and she uses this contest to bring more attention to their fine craftsmanship. On first bite, the aged cheddar is sharp and creamy, but not oily, waxing or overpowering as with some melted cheddars.

“It is simple science. We know our cheese,” says Chicago resident John Bassett. Donning a Cubs jersey, he and partner Susan Wrege serve up a crowd favorite by slicing their bread thick so it can hold a lot of the Wisconsin cheddar (aged for two years) that is a favorite among their friends back home.

The universal appeal of grilled cheese is on full display with the crowd of young and old screaming at every flip of a spatula, slice of bread or drop of cheese. Younger contestants generally push the cheesy boundaries while the older contestants opt for a more traditional approach.

After their annual meeting, a group of bearded, grungy, but well-spoken twenty-somethings decided to offer a sourdough with talegio, truffle goat cheese, and truffle butter (see right). Their Boos cutting board and Wusthof knives show how seriously they take their craft. In contrast to their frenzied team huddles and last-second plating, grey-haired Ron Bennett calmly waits for his “yellow” cheese to melt before adding them to his baguette slices.

“I was just lazy-just got tired of waiting for the cold cheese to melt,” Bennett explains as the inspiration behind his relatively traditional “Just Do It” sandwich, which comes in tenth place in the standard “Missionary Sammich” category.

With four categories that cover the full gamut of grilled cheese possibilities, contestants have plenty of room to improvise from the basic white bread, American cheese combination. The grilled cheese is a simple, but iconic dish that tastes like homey comfort. Even those most resistant or unfamiliar to the kitchen can relate to making a grilled cheese, making the contest a universal draw.

Plenty of contestants opt for the standard Kraft Singles or American cheese on white bread, but many innovated sandwich makers create unique flavor combinations.

Melody Dosch, representing The Artisan Cheese Gallery in Studio City, California combined ciabatta bread with her favorite “stinky” French cheese, epoisses (see right). Epoisses-similar in texture to brie-adds a fine silky pungency to the crispy-chewy balance of the bread. Like many other competitors, she smears her bread with a European style cultured butter that has a higher fat content and tart flavor.

First time competitors Daniel Felixson and Marina Olshansky found inspiration when they tasted chevre noir, a goat’s milk cheddar from Canada and a double cream cow’s milk cheese. They combine the cheeses with pears poached in red wine, cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla (see left). Instead of relying on sandwich bread, they use croissants, cooked in the sweet poaching elixir. The sweet, syrupy pears balance the sharp and earthy goat cheddar, while the croissant adds a rich, flakiness to each bite.

Part of the fun of the event is learning the back-story behind each sandwich. These stories range from endearing childhood memories to random kitchen experiments.

“Actually, the first thing I thought of for the Spoons category was Fork You,” describes second-time competitor Sylvia Wood. Her “Fork You” entry in the freestyle “Spoons” category combines pepper jack cheese, cream cheese and habanero butter, which poke more than the palate.

Former champion Holly Larson returns this year with her “Black and Tan,” which is marble rye with Cahill’s Irish cheddar. The name comes from the multicolor swirls on the rye as well as the black and tan spotted cheese, which is made with a dark Irish beer.

“This is my tribute to the mud flap girl,” explains Doc, a booming country presence with his lanky overalls, shaggy hair and southern drawl. “This sandwich originated in the back woods of Missouri, down in the Ozarks. I used to take a long haul down in the Ozarks all the time and we’d be really be hurting for grilled cheese.”

The story continues with Doc heating the mud flaps of his truck on the radiator and then stamping his cheese sandwich for a grilled cheese effect. Combining American cheese with cheddar, Doc cuts out a female silhouette to top the sandwich and is one of the few competitors to use a grill pan. His Mud Flap Girl’d is third among the 17 “Missionary Sammich” entries.

Still, some experiments prove to be less successful than others, laments Frances Wilson. Before settling on Jalapeno cheddar bread with muenster, mascarpone and havarti, she tested many combinations, some more memorable than others.

“We experimented. We just tried a bunch of combinations and we were very wrong in thinking with some combinations!” Wilson describes. Nonetheless, she says finding the right sandwich requires a commitment to explore the endless possibilities of cheese and bread.

The enthusiasm of competitors like Wilson and the hungry crowd is contagious. People share their passion for grilled cheese by talking endlessly about their first grilled cheese. Technical debates about the best cheese can turn heated. Some refuse to cook in anything but butter while others spread mayonnaise on their bread before grilling. Non-stick, stainless steel or cast iron pans all make an appearance as do grill pans and presses. There are those that cover the sandwich during cooking and others that leave them uncovered.

Cecilia Fabulich adapts a trick she picked up from famed chef Wolfgang Puck by smearing both mayonnaise and butter on her entry in the “Spoons” category. In the more traditional “Missionary Sammich” category, Fabulich takes first place with her ”Yo Mama’s Special” sandwich. 

She feels nothing can recreate the warm, gooey bite of nostalgia that comes with the classic combination of white bread, butter and American or cheddar cheese. Combining careful cooking with aged cheese, she rides away as the queen of cheese on this day.

Preparation is a must, with some spending a few days, others dreaming up winning combinations years in advance. Two years ago, Josh Hodas found the perfect bread-a walnut raisin pumpernickel from Beverlywood Bakery in Los Angeles. Although his cheddar and balsamic onion filling did not win, he hoped to use the bread again. This year, he returns with a cave-aged Gruyere and chevre goat cheese. Frying the bread until it is charred and smoky, the goat cheese offers a sharp gamey tang while the Gruyere is silky and mild. Hodas, a winner in the “Spoons” freestyle category also gets high marks for his other entries.

Though only ballot winners receive trophies, there are no losers on this day. The Grilled Cheese Invitational represents the best of food festivals and celebrations. It unites diverse people who may share nothing more than a common affinity for layers of hot crunchy bread and gooey melted cheese. Still, it is a deep enough connection for people from all walks of life to scream, cheer, salivate and savor shoulder-to-shoulder, palate-to-palate. Good food requires more than just technical precision or refined ingredients; it also needs a lot of love, passion and a fun: ingredients found in all 107-sandwich entries.

© All Rights Reserved, 2008