Vidalia Onion Recipe Contest Winner "Pleases the Crowd"

Josh

A family tradition continued Saturday morning in the annual Vidalia Onion Recipe Contest when Josh Allen walked away with the overall prize of $500 for his entry in the miscellaneous category with his entry of Bacon Wrapped Onions Rings.

For many years, his mother Elaine has been entering the contest, and Josh says why for the second year, he decided to enter.

“Yeah, my mom and I like to do this together, and it gives us a little bit of friendly competition,” he said.

Josh says the idea of what to enter came to him with the intent of being the crowd pleaser it was.

“You’ve got to give the people what they want,” he chuckled. “Everybody loves bacon so I thought why not try this. We wrapped the onion petals in bacon, rubbed some spices on there, a little barbecue sauce and put it on the smoker. I guess evidently, we did good!”

When hearing his named called for the top prize, he immediately knew Who he needed to give credit.

“Everything we do we do for the glory of God; He’s always the One who needs to be given the praise,” Josh concluded.

Other winners in the Recipe Contest were Jayne Coleman with Vidalia Onion Pop Tart, Janice Graham, Onion Pasta, and again, Josh Allen, Bacon Wrapped Onion Rings.

In the Side Dish Category, Elaine Allen won first place with Vidalia Onion & Apple Chicken Salad, with Mary Dunn winning second with Miss Mary’s Sweet Mac & Cheese; and Pam Bishop taking third with Vidalia Onion & Honey Baked Beans.

In the Appetizer Category it was a lady from Beaufort, S.C., and won first place. Eve Heaton won with her Vidalia Spring Roll Dip which was accompanied by hand sliced and fried wonton chips. Second place went to Charlee Adams with Lucy’s Dip, and Janice Graham rounded out the category with Caramelized Onion Dip.

The annual event always welcomes a gathering who gets to taste samples of each dish. Sabrina Toole chaired the Vidalia Onion Recipe Contest.

side dish