It was a day full of cheesy goodness for five members of the media who came out to judge the best grilled cheese sandwiches Armstrong has to offer.
And by the time the tour of eight Armstrong establishments was over Friday, March 31, the judges were stuffed to the gills 鈥� in the best way possible.
The five judges included Cam Luckock of Your Country News, Brian Martin and Rebecca Barton of Beach Radio, Heather Black of the Okanagan Advertiser and, for the first time, Brendan Shykora of the Vernon Morning Star.
Together, they named Farmstrong Cider Company鈥檚 鈥楩armstrong Dill-icious鈥� the Media鈥檚 Choice winner of the 10th annual Armstrong Professional Grilled Cheese Sandwich Competition.
True to its name, the winning sandwich featured dill butter grilled into the bread and fresh dill on top. Between two pieces of sourdough loaf from Askew鈥檚 in Armstrong, there was aged cheddar, Havarti and mozzarella (all 100 per cent Canadian), double-smoked bacon, diced pickles and pickled onions.
The Farmstrong sandwich scored an impressive 115 points out of a possible 120, beating out second place by a mere two points, which illustrates how difficult the judges鈥� task was in choosing the best grilled cheese.
Farmstrong earned the Media鈥檚 Choice nod in its first time taking part in the competition.
Coming in second place was the Wild Oak Caf茅鈥檚 鈥楾he Mulberry鈥� sandwich, which featured fig jam, black pepper bacon, brie, Gouda and mozzarella cheese on rye sourdough.
In third place was the first stop on the tour, Village Cheese, which produced a mouth-watering 鈥楧ilicious Grilled Cheese.鈥� Like the Farmstrong sandwich, dill was the not-so-secret ingredient, and made for a subtle but noticeable dill flavour profile. The sandwich featured red onions and cheddar with a salami 鈥榝lower鈥� on the side 鈥� a nice artistic touch.
鈥淚 thought it was really creative, the variety of ingredients was incredible, and everything was delicious,鈥� Black said.
Black added her personal favourite was the offering by PV BLVD, the 鈥楤LVD Grilled Cheese,鈥� which featured Mediterranean flavours with feta, sundried tomatoes and local cheese on local sourdough.
鈥淭he feta just kicked it up a notch,鈥� Black said, adding her close second was the Farmstrong sandwich.
The public now has the chance to take part and name one of the eight sandwiches the People鈥檚 Favourite. Simply go to one of the participating restaurants, order their grilled cheese sandwich and vote at the restaurant. The sandwiches are available until April 15, and ballots can be cast until April 12.
The other restuarants taking part include:
鈥� Askew鈥檚 Bakery 鈥� 鈥淭he Hold the Meat Grilled Cheese鈥�;
鈥� Armstrong Legion 鈥� 鈥淟egion Cheesy Melt鈥�;
鈥� Country Manor Kitchen 鈥� 鈥淪ay Cheeze Please鈥�;
鈥� Frosted Tier Cakes 鈥� 鈥淪avoury Goodness鈥�
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