Posted on July 16, 2019
The Rocket City Burger Battle lit their grills July 13 at Campus No. 805’s Stone Event Center to host Huntsville’s ultimate burger cook-off. Chefs from six different restaurants competed for awards and cash prizes before more than 1,000 guests and six judges.
Peppered Pig won the honor of “Best Burger and took home the “2019 Golden Spatula” for their bulgogi creation. “Most Creative” burger went to Ale’s Kitchen for their fiery Hawaiian recipe. Burger Battle patrons voted West End Grill’s juicy brisket and pork belly burger as their favorite burger of the day, earning the restaurant the “People’s Choice” award.
“Every burger at the event was original and very tasty,” said Bubba Conner, Silver Spoon catering chef and one of six judges for the Rocket City Burger Battle. “The flavors ranged from a Tikki Masala inspired burger by Phat Sammy’s to a southern favorites burger filled with pimento cheese, fried green tomatoes and black-eyed peas by Mezza Luna. Below the Radar’s chef even hand-crafted a delicious burger that incorporated poblano, habanero and ghost peppers.”
Judges praised the participating chefs for their creativity and use of unusual ingredients. Joining Conner at the tasting panel was Free 2 Teach founder Eula Battle, Downtown Huntsville Inc CEO Chad Emerson, and Star 99.1 and Rocket 95.1 media partner celebrities Victoria Johnson and Shea Fox.
“You could tell the amount of effort the chefs had put into these creations, and it was an incredibly tough decision between all the tasty burgers,” said Battle. “On the upside, I am looking forward to visiting these restaurants and sampling more of their burgers.”
Most exciting for Battle is the event’s support for Free 2 Teach, her non-profit that provides free school supplies to Huntsville and Madison County teachers.
The Rocket City Burger Battle raised a grand total of $5,000 for Free 2 Teach.
“We can’t believe the tremendous response for our first event and we look forward to building upon this success and hosting the 2020 Rocket City Burger Battle,” said Conner.
Sponsors for the Rocket City Burger Battle include Bank Independent, Century Automotive, Halsey Food Service, Costco, and Torch Technologies. Special thanks to Tom Jeffreys Sign and Banner and Metropolitan.