40th Annual Santa Cruz Clam Chowder Cook-Off Reimagined

Press release from the City of Santa Cruz:

January 27, 2021

SANTA CRUZ, CA—For its 40th year, the country's largest and longest-running clam chowder competition has been REIMAGINED with the community's health and safety in mind. It has been transitioned to a restaurant week to help out our local restaurants. The 40th Annual Clam Chowder Cook-off Reimagined - Restaurant Week runs from February 15-21, 2021.

Local Santa Cruz restaurants will be serving up clam chowder to compete for the title of Best Santa Cruz Clam Chowder. This year's competition will feature Boston Clam Chowders only. There will still be public voting for the People's Choice award along with the official judging to determine Santa Cruz's Best Boston Clam Chowder.

The public can visit participating Santa Cruz restaurants, purchase their best Boston clam chowder and vote online for their favorite!

And there is more! The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk will be pre-selling Clam Chowder Tasting Flights for pick-up on February 20. Each tasting flight includes six 2oz tastes of chowder from local Santa Cruz restaurants, voting information, and a complimentary Boardwalk parking coupon for 2/20/21. A portion of all Tasting Flight proceeds goes to City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation.

To fully tempt your taste buds, we are offering the Clam Chowder Cook-off Reimagined - Restaurant Week Passport. The $10 Passport includes a list of participating restaurants, People's Choice voting code and entry into the Clam Chowder Cook-off Reimagined Raffle for a chance to win one of the many prizes donated by local supporting businesses. Passports are not required to purchase chowder at participating restaurants. Passports go on-sale February 1 online.

Winners of the Cook-off and Raffle will be announced on February 22.

This event is an important fundraiser for the City of Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Department. Proceeds from the Chowder Cook-off help support recreation programs such as junior guards, summer camps, senior classes as well as safe, alternative offerings during Covid. Help us continue to provide affordable access to these important programs while sampling delicious clam chowder from our local restaurants.

More information about Restaurant Week is available on our website - https://www.cityofsantacruz.com/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/19130/591

More information about the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s Tasting Flights is available on their website - http://BeachBoardwalk.com/clamchowder.

The City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Department provides environments, experiences and programs that enrich lives and build a healthy community.

This press release was produced by the City of Santa Cruz. The views expressed here are the author’s own.