The Vermont Maple Festival is preparing to sponsor the 4th annual BEST MAPLE MENU contest.
The contest welcomes participants from across northern Vermont. Any food-service establishment, with maple on the menu, is invited to register for this month-long, diner-judged event.
This friendly competition begins April 1, with diners serving as judges. Most of last year's
participants are slated to return to the 2025 contest. These food/beverage businesses will be
automatically registered and will have contest materials delivered by the last week of March.
Newcomers may register, now through March 15. All participating eateries can expect mention in local newspapers, on social media and at the festival's opening ceremonies. They will be listed in various locations throughout the festival, along with hours of operation.
Nelly's was the winner of the first contest for Best Maple Menu, in 2022. Kaiju Kitchen had the winning menu in 2023. In 2024, the honor went to Phoenix House. Other participants, last year, included Red House Sweets, Maple City Diner, Mill River Brewery/Pub, The Travelled Cup, 14th Star Brewery, Mill River Taphouse, Catalyst Coffee Bar, Off the Rails, Green Mountain Cafe, Erica's,Kathy's Tavern and Graziers.
To be eligible: you must offer at least one maple-infused item on your menu; you must be willing to provide customers with ballots (supplied by the festival), beginning on April 1 (or first business day thereafter), and to then collect and hold completed ballots. Ballots will be picked up and tallied on May 1, with the winner to be announced later that week. The winning establishment will receive an engraved plaque and a gallon of maple syrup, along with press coverage.
Bakeries, coffee shops, delis, pizza parlors smoothie shops, breweries, dine-in restaurants and takeout restaurants are invited to register or seek further information at kayethecook@yahoo.com.
There is no registration fee, no need to divulge recipes and all materials will be provided.
The deadline for signing up is March 15.
The theme for the 2025 Vermont Maple Festival is “Bringing Families Together”. We appreciate the community support from all of our sponsors and from those who will participate in the Best Maple Menu contest – partnering with us to help families make special memories around Vermont maple.
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