The $10,000 Burger
A Mill Creek woman gave the competition the spatula smackdown Saturday, winning a national burger contest and $10,000.Elizabeth Bennett, a 36-year-old event planner, won first place in the non-beef category of Sutter Home’s Build a Better Burger contest.
“I think I just stood there in shock,” she said after her win was announced. “Five or six TV cameras were in my face, and they handed me an oversized check.”
In front of a live audience, Bennett grilled against four other finalists in a pressure-filled cook-off. She prepared her original recipe for Opa! Burgers, which beat out nearly 9,000 other entries in August to win a finalist spot in the competition in California’s Napa Valley.
Bennett’s burger, named for the Greek expression of celebration, features a Mediterranean-inspired lamb patty on rustic bolo rolls.
She created 18 burgers in three hours for a panel of celebrity chefs. After sampling the hot burgers, the judges grilled Bennett on stage in front of an audience. more…
Elizabeth Bennett
