On October 26th, over 650 people attended the Bowls for Bellies soup cook-off in support of The Mustard Seed Red Deer.
Now in its fifth year, this event raises funds for The Mustard Seed’s School Lunch Program — a program that provides free, nutritious lunches to students who may otherwise go without. Each school day, dedicated volunteers prepare and deliver more than 500 healthy meals to 55 schools across Central Alberta, helping ensure children have the nutrition they need to learn, grow, and thrive.
This is how the competition works: local chefs from different restaurants compete in the soup cook-off. Participants buy tickets online or at the door, then they go around to try the soups and cast their votes for their favourite. At the end, all votes are tallied, and the champion is named. The winner of the competition receives the coveted Bowly Grail, and the title of best soup in the city.
This year, 17 talented chefs battled hard for the trophy, but 3 came out on top
- First place: Original Joe’s — Golden Harvest Soup
- Second place: eighteen91 — Queso Baked Potato Soup
- Third place: Little Red Barn — Pumpkin Bean Soup
Congratulations to Original Joe’s for their win! This marks Original Joe’s second time winning the Bowly Grail and being named best soup in the city. Thank you to every chef who competed and helped make this year’s event unforgettable!
Aside from all the amazing soup shared, participants also got the chance to receive a Golden Box if they donated $20 or more to the School Lunch Program. Each box contained gift cards that were generously donated by sponsors. In the end, all 270 of the Gold Boxes were given out! Each participant also got a hand painted bowl from a student who participates in our School Lunch Program.
We’d like to give a huge thank you to Presenting Sponsor Sims Furniture, Jillian Vukovich from IG Wealth Management for organizing the event, and to all of the sponsors, volunteers, and participants. We are so grateful for the incredible community in Red Deer that consistently rallies around our School Lunch Program - you are ensuring kids are fed!
