Aioli Preps for the Burger Battle (March 9th)!

BURGER BATTLE TIME!

Yes, it’s that time of the year where 12 of Arizona’s best chefs come together to battle for the prize of best burger concept. Two top awards will be presented this year. The first award will be the “People’s Choice Award.” All attendees will be given a token and at the end of the event the token is used to vote for their favorite burger. The Second is the “Judge’s Choice award.” This years judges are Chef Mel Mecinas, Chef Chris Neff (Food & Beverage Writer), Christina Barruta, and Suzanne Clark (World Pasta Champion). After, the two winners will travel to Alabama to compete in the World Burger Battle competition.

History of Aioli & The Burger Battle
A lot of people might not know, but the Burger Battle is one of the events that put Aioli on the map and spring boarded Chef Tom into local celebrity status. When invited for the first time in late 2015, a food truck had never participated in the prestigious burger event. Entering as an underdog in the event, Aioli surprised everyone with the “Italiano” burger and won “people’s choice award.” After winning the golden ticket (literally, it’s a golden ticket), they traveled to Orlando, Florida to participate in the World Burger Battle. A lot has changed since 2015, especially the attendance. After last years early sell out at the Hotel Valley Ho, the venue has been moved to Scottsdale Waterfront to accommodate more people, and burgers!

“Secret up my Sleeve” Last Saturday Chef Tom gave a presentation for a local news channel where he displayed one of his award winning California Burger concepts. The interviewers were excited when they found out that Chef Tom had a secret up his sleeve for this year’s event. Earlier today, I spoke with Chef in the kitchen where he was cooking up a storm in preparation for the contest (while listening to eye of the tiger). “I can’t give out the details, but I can tell you it is going to be a crowd pleaser.” So there you have it folks, Chef Tom is going to reinvent the burger game.

Community Excitement
“We still have a lot of work to do before March 9th, but we’ll be ready. Walking into the restaurant, its clear that there is excitement in the air. As the days wind down to the big event, people are asking about what the new burger will be and whether it will be on the menu. Unfortunately, we can’t say just yet (smiling). Honestly, these types of events are what we are all about. Not only are events like the Burger Battle a lot of fun, but also it gives us a chance to represent our community, and the people who helped build us.” Co-Owner & Director of Marketing- Kyle Hollenbeck

See you there!
With great music, food, and people, I highly recommend that if you’re free on March 9th… to come out and see for yourself what the hype is all about!

Where: Scottsdale Water Front (4420 N. Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251)
Date: March 9th 2017
Time: VIP-6pm General-7pm
Purchase tickets here

Written by: Alec Caruso