Announcing the Winners of the 2017 Blended Burger Project™

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: there’s ‘shroom for improvement in your favorite burger.

The Blended Burger Project™ has finished its two-month run, during which 414 restaurants from 45 states developed and served their version of a blended burger, which combines finely chopped mushrooms with meat to create a more delicious, nutritious, and sustainable burger. More than 400,000 online votes were cast at jamesbeard.org/blendedburgerproject, and the five restaurants with the most votes have won the opportunity to cook their blended burgers at the historic James Beard House in New York City on January 23, 2018.

Our Blended Burger Project winners are:

Jon Lemon, Bareburger, NYC
Porchetta Burger: blended with wild mushrooms, fennel, garlic, and rosemary; served with broccoli rabe, sharp provolone, roasted tomatoes, and black garlic aïoli.

Toni Elkhouri, Cedar's Cafe, Melbourne, FL
Brevard's Taste of Summer Burger: blended Florida-grown Monterey mushrooms and lamb; served on an apricot and liquid smoke–glazed bun, with sour cherry mustard, basil, brie, and herb, lemon, caper, and walnut relish

Phillip Craig Thomason, VINTAGE Kitchen, Norfolk, VA
The Backyard: grass-fed beef and oyster mushroom confit; served with aged double cheddar, cracklin's, charred ramp mayo, bacon rust, Cabernet Franc molasses, crispy hayman potato straws, coffee salt, demi-pain perdu, and brown butter Mornay 

Petros Jaferis, Houston Yacht Club, La Porte, TX
The Greeklish Burger: beef chuck, cremini mushroom, and caper patty; served on a brioche bun with basil aïoli, feta melted, Greek salad, and paprika oil

Bud Taylor, The Bistro at Topsail, Surf City, NC
Goomba Burger: local grass-fed Mills Family Farm beef, blended with oyster and portobello mushroom confit; served with Havarti, shiitake, bacon–lemongrass aioli, heirloom tomato, baby arugula, and housemade bun

Stay tuned! We’ll be sharing the recipes for the winning burgers soon. Plus, find out more about our new BBP offshoot: Blended Burger Project™ Campus Edition.