Winning Waterdown chef ready to ladle out latest Soupfest classic
But this year’s entry a secret until Feb. 27 Living Rock fundraiser
Michael Schmidt must keep tight-lipped about what he’s cooking up for the 22nd annual Soupfest at the Hamilton Convention Center on Feb. 27, but odds are his recipe will be a culinary hit.
The rules require Michael Schmidt to keep tight-lipped about what he’s cooking up for the 22nd annual Soupfest, but odds are his recipe will be a culinary hit.
The Waterdown chef, whose family runs the perogy-loving ‘Stuffed’ food truck, made an immediate splash when he joined the popular fundraising event for Living Rock Youth Centre in 2020, taking the first runner-up award for best soup with his dill pickle entry.
The next year, his bacon and mushroom soup won both the best and most creative soup categories, while his 2022 chicken pot pie soup was the most-served entry when pandemic restrictions scotched award votes.
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Last year’s creamy spinach artichoke soup took the public’s vote for best soup and was judged first runner-up in the same category in a blind test by the festival’s tasting panel, topped only by a parsnapple soup served by the Royal Botanical Gardens’ Rock Garden Café.
Schmidt said he’s happy to donate his soup creations to help support Living Rock’s youth programs and began preparing for this year’s festival with nine potential recipes, narrowing them down to four before making his final choice.
But he says Soupfest rules don’t allow him to divulge this year’s entry until the morning of the event, held from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Feb. 27 at the Hamilton Convention Centre.
“Like all of our other soups, it will be unique and full of flavour,” Schmidt said. “My inspiration for our soups comes from foods that I enjoy eating. We always try to create something new and exciting which maybe hasn’t been done before.”
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Schmidt said his 2023 creamy spinach artichoke soup entry, for instance, was inspired “by everyone’s favourite restaurant dip” and served over a three-cheese tortellini, while his 2020 dill pickle soup entry reflected his “addiction for all things pickle and dill.”
While past Soupfest recipes have made it into Stuffed’s regular lineup of gourmet soups, he said that likely won’t be the case with this year’s version “because of all of the external components we’ll be adding at the time of service.”
But he noted it may make appearances at the food truck’s events or at the new Stuffed restaurant his family plans to open this spring.
The 2024 Soupfest will feature selections from a dozen local restaurants, as well as a spicy Thai peanut soup from Living Rock’s kitchen and a vegan lentil soup by the youth centre’s collaborator, Rony’s restaurant.
This year’s lineup also includes Apothecary Kitchen, Baci Ristorante, Chef Nina’s Creative Kitchen, Green Machine Food Truck, Born and Raised, McMaster University’s Bistro at MKR, the Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton Convention Centre by Carmen’s, Kelseys, My Thai, Thirsty Cactus and Zeal Multi-Cultural Cuisine.
Tickets are $20 and provide four-ounce samples of four soups. For more information visit www.livingrock.ca/soupfest.
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