Burger masters Kathy Sidell and David Daniels of MET Back Bay topped the competition with their The Jacques Burger to take home Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews’ Best of the Bash Award at the Amstel Light Burger Bash presented by Schweid & Sons hosted by Rachael Ray. Part of the Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine, the Burger Bash features carefully curated offerings from top burger chefs from around the country. Red Robin, along with Andrew Zimmern, creator, host and executive producer of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods, awarded Sidell and Daniels with the “Best of the Bash” title, a $10,000 check and the chance for their award-winning build to appear on Red Robin’s Finest premium burger menu later this year.
For the fourth consecutive year, Red Robin invited all chefs participating in America’s iconic burger competition to enter their featured burger in its contest for a chance to be crowned the Best of the Bash. Zimmern along with past champions Brad Halsten, owner of the Burger Dive in Billings, Montana, Michell Sanchez, owner of Latin House Grill in Miami and Red Robin representatives judged 11 unique burgers in three key categories: taste, presentation, and creativity. After deliberation, the judges declared The Jacques Burger, featuring premium blended beef, crispy potatoes, Applewood smoked bacon, frizzled shallots, Swiss cheese and parmesan truffle sauce, victorious.
“The Jacques Burger had the right balance of onion and bacon, and their special sauce was outstanding,” Zimmern says. “But most importantly, they had a nice crust on their burger and they seasoned it with salt. At the end of the day, if the meat tastes good, your burger is going to taste good.”
“Red Robin enjoyed sharing the Burger Bash stage with the most brilliant burger minds in the industry again this year,” adds Jonathan Muhtar, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Red Robin. “As the Gourmet Burger Authority, we are committed to providing our guests with imaginative burgers worthy of our Finest menu. Best of the Bash champions Kathy and David share our passion for innovation, and we can’t wait to give our guests the opportunity to try their burger!”
In addition to presenting the Best of the Bash Award, Red Robin honored Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management students Michelle Diaz and Yolanda Suarez on the Burger Bash stage. The pair teamed up for Red Robin’s Golden Robin Contest, and their original Loaded Baked Potato Burger recipe beat out more than 300 other submissions by fellow students to win a $10,000 scholarship and chance to appear on Red Robin’s menu in the future. Diaz and Suarez also served their winning burger to attendees of the event alongside Red Robin. To date, the Festival has raised more than $22 million for the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University.
