POINT PLEASANT — The soup flowed in the annual Point Pleasant Chamber of Commerce’s Soup Cookoff last week as businesses and residents gathered to taste and test their soups.
The Point Autumn Soup Cook-Off happened last Thursday, Nov. 14, as both restaurants, business and residents competed to take home the crown.
Michelle Coffey, president of Point Pleasant Chamber of Commerce, told The Ocean Star, “This is our annual soup cook off. Every year we have local restaurants and home chefs submit their best take at soups and then everyone gets to try all the soups and they get to vote on which ones are the best. We usually get a lot of people from the community. It’s a nice night out, inexpensive, the food is delicious and we get to showcase our local restaurants and businesses.”
The event, which aimed to support local businesses, was held at the Woman’s Club of Point Pleasant, 513 St. Louis Ave., from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with the winners announced at 7 p.m. The entry cost was $10 for unlimited soup for spectators.
This year, the chamber also collects gift cards from local businesses to be donated to Panthers Let’s Eat, a local food pantry.
This year, nine competitors went head-to-head in the fierce cooking competition. These were: The Grenville Hotel and Restaurant with an alfredo tortelli soup, Dream Tree Designs with a carrot ginger soup, Castaways Cafe and Grill with a potato cauliflower soup, Divi Tree Coffee with a loaded potato soup, Shore House with a blackened crab corn chowder, Sea Change Financial with a Thanksgiving dinner soup, NutrishOn with a french onion soup, Petal Street with chili and Willow and Oak with an Italian sausage and gnocchi soup.
On top of being an evening of delicious soup, the event also offered the opportunity to promote membership and networking within the Point Pleasant business community.
Coffey said, “Especially in today’s environment where everybody is so hooked on their devices all the time, we like to give opportunities for our community to get together in-person, have real conversations and reconnect with their friends and local businesses.”
Mari Guadagno, member board of directors with the Chamber and owner of Willow and Oak Custom Planters, told The Ocean Star, “This is great to get people together from all parts of the community, even from the Beach, which is a really nice thing to have. What is better than warm soup on a cold night? We are also giving back to Panthers Let’s Eat so it’s another chance for us to give back to the community.”
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