Mac and Cheese Competition

Brooklyn was the site of the first ever sMACdown-a mac and cheese competition that took place in January at the Glasslands Gallery in Williamsburg, a music venue turned food competition locale. Blogger Melissa Pilkington, hosted the sMACdown, which was inspired by the recent Ramen-Off, where ingenious and delicious takes on the classic impoverished-college-student staple were judged.

More than 130 hungry guests paid $10 each for the right to eat and vote for their favorite mac n' cheese, varieties of which were served up by 18 contestants. DJs were spinning in the background, the bar served Shocktop Beer with a shot of whiskey for five bucks, and everyone ate, voted and took a shot at a raffle prize. 

Theo Peck's "Sweet Cheesus" homemade sausage-studded mac and cheese took first prize (see recipe link below). Second-place winner, pork farmer Mike Betit, made a mac and cheese with bacon, scallions and ginger, wrapped up in Chinese dumpling wrappers, fried and served with a shoyu-maple syrup dipping sauce. The winner was awarded a $125 prize and the honor of being the king of mac and cheese.