Last month, I promised details were forthcoming on the first-ever OC Weekly-KCRW hot sauce/salsa contest, winners which will be announced at the inaugural Patchwork Edible festival held by my chica at the SOCO Collection October 5-6. Well…here they are!
It's actually fiendishly simple, really, but let's go through what the parameters are. As I wrote before, we want to taste your creations, or those of your parents or restaurant, whether it's pico de gallo, pepper sauce, vinegary, fiery, made with fruit, nothing but jalapeños, or something else. Just stay away from liquid smoke, for chrissakes. There are only two categories: amateur–yourself, your tía, your coworker, etc.–and professional, whether coming from a restaurant or a hot sauce company. Within those categories, you can do ANYTHING–curries, salsas, pepper sauce, stuff cultivated from a Guatemalan insane asylum. An esteemed panel will judge the entries and announce the top 3 in each category at Patchwork Edible. Trophies will go to the first-place winner in each category, and the amateur winner will get $100! And the entry fee, of course, is FREE and open to ANYONE!
Now, how does one enter? Glad you asked.
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To enter, send an email to garellano at ocweekly dot com (my email!) by 5 p.m. PST September 25 October 2 with your name, address, phone number, email and whether you're entering as a pro or an amateur. The actual preliminary tasting with judges will happen September 28 Oct. 5 at 10 a.m. at Weekly World Headquarters the Chuck Jones Gallery in Costa Mesa, so folks planning to enter should plan to show up that morning with your hot sauce (more specific instructions will come for said contestants). You shouldn't prepare more than a pint's worth of your hot stuff, and you should package it in a sturdy container that you don't mind parting with forever.
And…that's it. What are you waiting for? APPLY APPLY APPLY!
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