The Sunrise Rotary Vero Beach hosted the 11th Annual Florida Craft Brew and Wingfest on Saturday, February 18 at Royal Palm Pointe in Vero Beach. Patrons purchased a tasting bracelet to sample hundreds of delicious craft brews and fill up on chicken wings prepared by local chefs and amateur competitors vying for glory in the wing competition while mingling with friends and family and listening to local bands.
The Judges for the Best Wings in Vero came from the City of Vero Beach…Chief Curry, Jason Jefferies, Jim O’Connell, Sean Collins, Monty Falls and Brandon Dambeck with criteria featuring contestant presentation and taste based on a blind taste-test.
The Source’s Dignity Foods team, with their popular wing recipe entitled “Mo Wings,” won 1st place in the “Independent Chef” category as well as 1st place in the “People Choice Award.” Named in honor of the former Source Assistant Executive Director Maureen Archer, who came from the Caribbean and died last year, the wings are made with a sweet Jalapeno pineapple sauce and presented in a pineapple shell.
“To see our culinary students and staff continue to perform at such a high level of cooking is exciting. We are changing lives one plate at a time,” stated Anthony Zorbaugh, Executive Director of The Source.
The Source offers the Dining with Dignity Program to their homeless members, which includes a 6, 12 and 18-week professional training program, ultimately helping them find suitable employment within the food industry while cooking meals for in-house members as well as, local businesses and non-profit organizations. Dignity Foods has two food trucks in the area daily geared to selling award-winning foods throughout the community while providing additional training for culinary students. The award-winning “Mo” Wings are on the daily menu.
For more information on The Source and their programs, contact Anthony Zorbaugh at 564-0202 or visit www.iamthesource.org.
For more information: Beverly S. Paris, Paris Productions, 772-234-4412