by Margaret Henderson and Dave DeWitt

For the second year in a row, we exceeded 600 entries into the Scovie Awards. We set a new record for total number of entries. The judging was moved to the Four Hills Country Club, where we had a lot more room. Thanks to them for their hospitality.

McGinn’s Pistachio Tree Ranch won the Grand Prize for an unprecedented 2nd year in a row with their Atomic Hot Chili Pistachio Brittle. In addition, their Red Chile and Green Chile Pistachios took 1st and 2nd place in the Nut category. It is interesting to note that the category winning the most Grand Prizes over the years is Sweet Heat

Buffalo Wild Wings continued their long tradition of winning in the Scovies, taking home a total of 6 awards, including the Grand Prize in Advertising & Marketing for their Teryaki Brand Sauce poster.

Daniel’s Fire Roast made a notable entry into the Professional scene this year, winning a total of 5 awards–notable because he won in the Amateur competition last year! We love it when Amateur winners move up and do well in the Pros, and it has happened often.

The entries that traveled the farthest were from Tohato of Toshimaku, Tokyo, Japan. Tohato won 7 Scovies: 4 in Advertising and Marketing and 3 in the tasting categories. It was interesting to note how well the Japanese advertising and products competed against the mostly American entries.

We also received several entries from Australia and Canada. One of the Canadian entrants was Denzel’s Gourmet Foods, who won 5 Scovies this year!

Other big winners this year were:

Garden Fresh Salsa with 7 wins

Schizophrenic Chipotle with 6 wins

Demetri’s Bloody Mary Seasoning with 5 wins

Buddie’s Foods with 4 wins

Carolina Sauce Company with 4 wins

Jalapeńo Ketchup Company with 4 wins

A note on ties. In every case where two companies had identical scores, we did not break the ties but rather added another place to the category. This meant that some categories had four winners rather than three. Congratulations to all winners and thanks to everyone who entered the contest.