Saturday, February 21, 2009, was the 28th Annual Santa Cruz Clam Chowder Cook Off & Festival. This yearly event brings out the best of the best from Northern California to compete for the crown of Best Clam Chowder. Attending this event allows you to sample both Boston and Manhattan clam chowders.

Contestants were divided into to three divisions. The first division was made up of Individuals that consisted of families sharing their version of clam chowder. Next, there was the Professional division that ranged from restaurants, food caterers, to culinary schools. Finally, the last group was the Corporate/Media division. This bunch was made up of cooks representing companies and organizations. Both the best Boston and Manhattan clam chowder titles would be awarded separately. A select panel of judges was to pick the winners later that afternoon.

We arrived a little past noon at the Boardwalk just in time to see contestants wrapping up the rest of their prep work. Stoves were lit and everyone was busily hurrying to get their chowder ready for public tasting.

Tasting Kits were available for event goers. Each kit included a small paper cup, spoon, napkin, and a blue voting ticket for you to pick your favorite chowder. The contestants with the most blue tickets would be crowned the People’s Choice Winner. Your Tasting Kit also included five tickets that you would hand out to each contestant so that you could sample their clam chowder. You also had to make sure you don’t throw your cup away. You had to reuse it each time you were to sample chowder from different booths. You could see that our cups were pretty much beat up by the end of the tasting.

So, how do you pick out which chowder to try out with only five tickets to redeem? It helped that past event winners showed off their reward plaques that they’ve collected over the years. Some contestants went as far as dressing up in costumes and setting up themed booths to catch the attention of people walking by. I found the best way to find out which chowder to try was to actually talk to the people at the booths. This way, we found out the stories behind their clam chowder and what makes their chowder stand out above the rest.

I was browsing through a pamphlet that listed all of the contestants and last year’s event winners. It was our first time at the event and we wanted to be as fair as possible when it came to selecting which chowders we planned to taste. We ignored the list of the 2008 winners so that we could find our own favorites. We also went on a little chatting spree with several booths to find out more about them and their clam chowder.

2 Guys Cook’in

I wondered what makes a good clam chowder. Eric from the 2 Guys Cook’in booth said, “It’s all about the clams. Whether they’re fresh or canned.”

This group from Ben Lomond have always tried to create something new with clam chowder. This year they tried to have a Thai inspired clam chowder that uses coconut milk, basil, and lemon grass.

Moms Clam Diggers
This is a family operation from Aptos. Their booth showed pictures of their family digging out clams from a sea shore. What made their chowder different was the Mexican flare they added. It looks like this group prided their chowder on their heritage.

Draeger Construction
What caught our attention was the chef chopping up crispy strips of bacon. I was able to talk to one of the representatives from their booth and I asked what made their chowder stand out.

“Our chowder is not low in calories. Be warned!”

She pointed out the bacon as she told me about their chowder. She also pulled out a boxed carton of the largest slab of cream cheese that I’ve ever seen. After seeing that, I knew she wasn’t kidding about the calories in this one.

Dominican Hospital
A very whimsical fellow from this booth was dressed up as a doctor. He used his stethoscope on the pot of clam chowder and kiddingly said, “I think we killed the clams!”

We exchanged a few words about what kind clams they were using. He said they used fresh Manila Clams. I noticed the bowl right in front of me and saw how the clams were sautéed in garlic. I sampled a taste of the clams and it peaked my interest to see how they would taste in chowder.

Chowder Kids Making Bacon
When bacon is in the air, the crowds are there. You could just smell bacon as you walked by this booth. The smell attracted a large crowd. We decided to give it a try just because of the long line that was forming.

Fog Mountain Café

With contestants using the same basic ingredients, it’s almost crucial that you take a step to differentiate yourself from others. We saw that with Fog Mountain Café’s chowder. They utilized applewood smoked bacon and roasted corn. We saw the beautiful yellow corn being heated over two skillets as the rest of the Fog Mountain Café team worked on getting their chowder together.

Good Samaritan Hospital
This high spirited bunch showed off over 20 of their awards that they’ve collected in past events. We just had to stop and see how they managed to win so much.

“Chef Ray Ramirez is behind the chowder. It’s his secret.”

I knew that not everyone was going to share their recipe for success. As we were about to leave the Good Samaritan Hospital booth, we heard a loud yell from behind. A military sound off was happening at their booth. This little skit accompanied the military uniforms and theme they had going.

It goes to show you that family recipes, secret ingredients, and special techniques will always be a part of making one’s clam chowder the best.

I mean, look at this modified drill made specifically for mixing up clam chowder.

It was such a fantastic event. It was great fun especially if you are a big clam chowder fan. My experience with clam chowder was limited to what was available in restaurants in Monterey’s Fisherman’s Warf. Being able to attend the Clam Chowder Festival was a welcomed change to what I’m used to. To have several samples of different chowders with their own distinct characteristics really can show you how clam chowder isn’t just clam chowder.

A special thank you goes out to Kiersten of Foodbuzz and the Foodie Correspondent Program and the contestants that let us chat with them. Also, another thank you to Brigid Fuller from Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Below is the list of the winners of the 28th Annual Santa Cruz Clam Chowder Cook Off & Festival:

Best Professional Boston
1st Place – Blackboard Catering , Santa Cruz
2nd Place – Cabrillo College Culinary Arts, Aptos
3rd Place – Lil Biscuit House, San Mateo

Best Professional Manhattan
1st Place – Severino’s Grill, Aptos
2nd Place – Cabrillo College Culinary Arts, Aptos
3rd Place – Redwood Sluggers, UCSC

Best Individual Manhattan
1st Place – Little Kahuna Chowder, Brad Winding, Castro Valley
2nd Place – Grandma’s Clam Diggers, Salome Ponce, Aptos
3rd Place – Manhattan Mama, Kathy Cooper, Sacramento

Best Individual Boston
1st Place – Clam Halen, Brad Bishop, Santa Cruz
2nd Place – Rack of Clams, Tom Mietz, Santa Cruz
3d Place – Moms Clam Diggers, Salome Ponce, Aptos

Best Corporate
1st Place – Aegis of Aptos, Aptos
2nd Place – Draeger Construction, San Jose
3rd Place – Dominican Oaks, Santa Cruz

Most Original Team
Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose

People’s Choice
Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose

Most Tasted
Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose
Carmona’s BBQ Deli, Watsonville
Rosie’s Clam & Get It

Sal Dinapoli Special Spirit Award
Continental Airlines

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