Ready, set, eat!
The second annual Burger Battle is on in Fredericton, with 14 local eateries offering everything from traditional toppings to patties laden with cucumber kimchi and crispy prosciutto.
Jesse Demers of Isaac’s Way is making what he calls the Cluck, Duck, Moo – a burger featuring pulled duck and a fried egg.
“Every time you’re cooking the same thing, it’s on your menu, it’s always fun to add something new just to spice it up,” says Demers.
“This is a chance for them to say, ‘hey, we’ve got 11 days or 12 days, let’s just bang something out that’s really cool.’”
Ben Conoley of Eat New Brunswick is the man behind the kitchen competition. After participating in Halifax’s Burger Week, he decided to bring the event to Fredericton.
Last year, Fredericton restaurants sold 3,000 burgers during their first burger battle. Conoley hopes to surpass that number this year.
“People say, ‘hey, we haven’t been to Isaac’s Way or 540 yet’ or people who live in town might not go to James Joyce or the Delta,” says Conoley. “So I want to give people a reason to say, ‘hey, something exciting is happening. I want to go out and eat.’”
Gourmet burgers are the second fastest growing food trend, behind coffee.
Rivers Corbett, one of the driving forces behind the growing gourmet burger chain Relish, says that’s because of the emotion attached to memories involving the tasty treat.
“It’s the backyard BBQ. It’s the time at camps. It’s a nice, kind of, cool meal, out with a bunch of buddies and you’re playing golf and you’re going to have a good burger,” says Corbett.
“It transcends ages, it transcends generations, transcends all that stuff.”
Participants will also have the chance to win $25 gift certificates at participating restaurants by uploading their burger photos to Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #YFCBurgerBattle.
The Burger Battle runs until June 21.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell
