Here’s A Sample Of The Best New Foods At State Fair

The Wisconsin State Fair is celebrating 10 years of The Sporkies. This is the food competition that’s created hundreds of delicious and very unique dishes throughout the past decade.

Eight Sporkies finalists were selected from 31 mouth-watering entries and four Drinkies finalists were selected from 11 thirst-quenching entries. Here’s a sample of what you can try of the finalists at the Wisconsin State Fair.

The winner of this year’s Sporkies contest was the Beer Cheese Wisconsin Lava Cake from WürstBar. This is a savory take on a sweet classic. Owner Andrew Fronek says the Beer Cheese Wisconsin Lava Cake sums up Wisconsin in one bite.

In honor of a decade of The Sporkies, the Wisconsin State Fair team upped the ante by debuting a new competition to accompany the annual Sporkies. Introducing, The Drinkies – a beverage competition that will showcase the best of the best of the non-alcoholic drink category.

One of the Drinkies finalists was the Cotton Candy Lemonade. Curt Kluth of Saz’s BBQ helped mastermind this Drinkies finalist, and he’s responsible for the third-place Sporkies winner, Fried Apple Pie. He talks about what these treats are and the process it took to create them. 

Tropics, another food vendor at the Wisconsin State Fair, also tried their hand at both the Sporkies and Drinkies competitions. Manager Rachel Barnaby tells Mid-West Farm Report about their treats: Mango Tango Tajin and Coast Corn Nuggets:

Another finalist in this year’s Sporkies competition is the Sweet & Savory Funnel Cake Fries. You can find these at the Bud Pavilion. Leanne Hock and her family have owned the Bud Pavilion at Wisconsin State Fair Park for 16 years. And for a large portion of those years, they’ve been entering The Sporkies competition. For five of those years, they’ve been a finalist. The cheese curds in the Sweet & Savory Funnel Cake Fries dish come from Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery.

Look for the golden, 13-foot sporks and drinkies statues outside each finalist and winner locations during your visit.

See the full list of Sporkies and Drinkies options: https://wistatefair.com/fair/sporkies/