The James Beard Foundation and Mushroom Council are Launching the Better Burger Project

Summer is coming to a close, but don’t fret because burgers are still hot on the grill! The James Beard Foundation in partnership with the Mushroom Council launched the Better Burger Project on Memorial Day and just concluded the nationwide culinary contest. They recently announced five restaurant winners, including:

1. Quaff ON! in Bloomington, Indiana
2. Bachi Burger in California and Nevada
3. Blue Southern Comfort Food in Los Angeles
4. Belly Acres in Memphis Tennessee
5. Burgh’ers Restaurant in Pennsylvania

More than 220 restaurants participated in the contest which challenged chefs to create a “better burger” by blending ground meat with finely chopped mushrooms to introduce a more delicious, healthy, and sustainable alternative. Customers flocked to the restaurants and raved about the burgers online via the Instagram voting platform.

All of the winning chefs will now head to NYC for the James Beard Foundation Food Conference onOctober 19-20 to showcase their prized blend burgers at the reception gala at the historic James Beard House. The theme this year will be “Rethinking the Future of Food” and look at the farm, kitchen and health in terms of influencing the culinary industry for a better tomorrow.

posted by Andrea Gonzalez 8/18/15