Local Heroes To Compete At 2018 Gilroy Garlic Festival

GILROY, CA - From Gilroy Garlic Festival: The Gilroy Garlic Festival has announced the four teams of local first responders and military heroes that will be competing in the Champions for Charity challenge on Friday, July 27. The four teams will face off in a three-round cooking competition on the Challenge Butter Cook-Off Stage, with the winners earning $3,000 to donate to the charity of their choice.

2017 winners John Campbell and Morgan Sanders, EMS professionals representing AMR/Santa Clara County, will be back to defend their title and plan to give their prize money to Alzheimer's Association. Robert Herrera and Ludwin Marroquin-Cifuentes will represent the San Jose Fire Department and plan to donate their winnings to the Center for Living with Dying. Herb Alpers and Tom Evans from South Santa Clara County Fire/CAL Fire hope to win the contest on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The fourth team is Bret Barker and Becky Barker, proudly representing the U.S. Army and hoping to win the $3,000 top prize for the Gary Sinise Foundation.

The four teams will compete in three elimination rounds including Appetizer, Entrée, and Dessert. After each round, a panel of judges will evaluate taste, creativity, appearance and use of garlic to determine who will move on to the next round. The winning team will get the ultimate bragging rights—and will be awarded $3,000 to donate to their selected charity.

Denise Buessing, Co-Chair of the 2018 Gilroy Garlic Festival Recipe Contest Committee, said, “We love kicking off our three days of cooking competitions with this exciting event. Our local first responders and military heroes have serious cooking chops—and it’s wonderful to see them competing to benefit such worthy causes!”

Image via Gilroy Garlic Festival