Receiving the highest praise and the first-ever Governor’s Plate award, the Papa Mario’s Grilled Cheese Food Truck was crowned the winner at the Colorado State Fair’s inaugural Colorado-sourced food competition. The Governor’s Plate winner was the Panfili grilled cheese, prepared with ingredients from Colorado Proud producers, including Musso Farms and Springside Cheese.
“We are thrilled to begin this new tradition, to celebrate our storied agricultural history and our bright future. It was an honor to taste a variety of dishes by Colorado chefs made with Colorado grown ingredients. Congrats to each and every participant for showcasing their best work,” said Governor Polis. “Colorado’s food scene is on the map thanks to our entrepreneurs, restaurants, and the farms that keep us fed with homegrown world-class food products. Congrats to the inaugural winner!”
Indeed, Papa Mario’s Truck swept the awards, also receiving the People’s Choice award for the Popper Mario sandwich and the Best Food Truck award for having the most combined number of votes. An honorable mention goes to the Double D's BBQ Shack, which lost by 3 votes in the Best Food Truck category.
“Colorado’s ag industry grows, raises, and produces some of the best and most flavorful ingredients in the country and the chefs who took part in this inaugural competition really put their best foot forward to create a delectable competition,” said Agriculture Commissioner Kate Greenberg. “Coloradans care about where their food comes from and this event shows why we make it a priority to buy and use Colorado Proud ingredients available at retailers statewide.”
This year's event featured five food trucks from across Colorado competing for awards by using Colorado-sourced ingredients, including the Pueblo chile, in their dishes. Competing food trucks were selected in advance and featured What’s Cooking (Pueblo), Double D’s BBQ Shack (Pueblo), Papa Mario’s Grilled Cheese (Pueblo), Downtown Fingers (Denver), and Eskimo Bros. Nitro Ice Cream (Denver).