Syracuse,
NY – March 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / The first-ever Taste NY
Food Truck Competition will premiere on Sunday, September 6 at the Great
New York State Fair in Syracuse, Commissioner of Agriculture Richard
A. Ball announced today. This first-of-its-kind competition will see as
many as 20 chefs from across the state surrounding Chevy Court with their
trucks and offering samples of their most creative and tastiest offerings
for fairgoers and judges.
Entrants will be required
to use foods primarily grown and produced in New York State. Judges will
sample each truck’s signature entrée to determine a winner of the
judged portion of the competition and to rank each competitor. Fairgoers
will also help pick a winner in a separate competition. Samples of the
competition entree will be available at each truck for $2 per sample for
fairgoers. The entrée receiving the most votes from fairgoers, who
will receive a ballot with each $2 sample they purchase, will be crowned
the People’s Choice winner.
Each winner will receive
a trophy and a gift card for $750 from a New York State food supplier or
distributor. The second place finisher in the People’s Choice category
will receive a trophy and a portable 3500-watt generator.
Entries will be accepted
until all 20 slots have been filled. The application form is available
only on the Fair website, at www.nysfair.org
(opens PDF File). Food trucks will not be serving food to the general public
beyond the entrée samples.
The day of competition will
conclude with each truck taking part in the Fair’s daily 6:00 p.m. parade.
State Agriculture Commissioner
Richard A. Ball said, “New York’s food is second to none and this unique
competition will delight thousands of people at this year’s Great New York
State Fair. Here in New York, we grow the best and we make the best, and
this competition will show that we also cook the best. Food truck chefs
are reinventing street foods as we know it. This is a great addition to
the Fair’s more than 70 competitions that highlight the state’s agricultural
diversity.”
The Fair Hits the Road
In the meantime, the Fair
will soon roll out a truck of its own. A mobile vending truck with the
Fair logo will spread the word of the Fair at public events around the
Central New York region this spring and summer, offering information about
advance sale tickets to the Fair along with information about the Fair
itself. At selected events, Acting Director Troy Waffner plans to drive
the truck himself so that the Fair’s many fans can give him their suggestions
personally. Fair mascots Pop and Candy will also be on hand at selected
events to pose for photos and greet the Fair’s youngest fans.
“We’ve been coming up with
a lot of new ideas in recent years to keep the Fair interesting, but I
know that our fans also have wonderful ideas and I am looking forward to
hearing them,” said State Fair Director Troy Waffner. “The Fair is less
than six months away now, and we’re kicking it into high gear to bring
the best in entertainment and agriculture to Central New York this summer.”
Appearances by the truck
will be announced as they are confirmed.
The New
York State Fair, operated by the New
York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, runs from August
27 – September 7, 2015. The Fair’s mission, reflected in its theme, “Summer’s
Best in Show,” is to showcase the best of New York agriculture while providing
top-quality entertainment.
In addition to the annual
New York State Fair, the Fairgrounds host dozens of agricultural events
throughout the year, including some of the Northeast’s most prestigious
horse and livestock shows.
The home of the Great New
York State Fair is a 375-acre exhibit and entertainment complex that operates
all year. A year-round
schedule of events is available on the Fair’s
website. Find The Great New
York State Fair on Facebook, follow @NYSFair
on Twitter, and enjoy photos from the Fair at Flickr.com/photos/nysfair.
Also, New Yorkers are invited to send their ideas for the Great New York
State Fair at statefairideas@agriculture.ny.gov.
Media Contacts:
Joe
Morrissey
Public Information Officer
NYS Department of Agriculture
& Markets
518-457-0752
Dave
Bullard
Public Relations
New York State Fair
315-487-7711 x 1377 |