Creamy Tomato A Winner At River Towns Soup Cookoff In New Hope

NEW HOPE, PA — Inside Havana’s on Saturday afternoon, the delicious aroma of soup hung thick in the air as nine chefs competed for bragging rights in the annual River Towns Soup Cookoff.

Stirring up a mouthwatering array of clear and thick concoctions, nine eateries joined this year’s ultimate soup challenge organized by Revolutionary Crawls and Events as a fundraiser for the Fisherman’s Mark food bank in Lambertville.

For a donation, members of the public were invited to sample each soup and then vote for their three favorites as they enjoyed live music by Fraser Thomas.

Voting was continuous throughout the afternoon as participants sampled bowls brimming with lobster bisque, Italian white bean, creamy tomato, pear and parsnip, tomato bisque, Tom Kha Gai, escarole and bean, clam chowder and crab and corn chowder.

Ashley and Susan from the Lambertville House dish out their tomato bisque.

Triumph Brewery served an escarole and bean soup.

Glen and Russell Stephan of Stephan Design & Construction presents $1,000 in sponsorship dollars from Stephan Design, Niece Lumber and SMC Global. Accepting is event organizer Marianne Rosato.

After voting had ended, event organizer Marianne Rosato and New Hope Borough Mayor Larry Keller stepped to the stage to end the suspense and announce the winners of this year’s Cookoff.

Winning first place with its creamy tomato soup was New Hope’s Greenhouse. Chef David Lorenzo Garcia whipped up the soup, which is made with a chicken base seasoned with hints of oregano, fresh parsley, a touch of garlic, onion, and heavy cream topped with Parmesan grilled cheese croutons.

Capturing second was Havana with its lobster bisque created by Chef Miguelangel Quiroz. The soup, he said, is made with “only the finest and freshest ingredients and extra love” along with a touch of Cognac.

Havana's Chef Miguelangel Quiroz fills a bowl with his Lobster Bisque. (Photo by Jeff Werner)

Michael Sklar dishes out the award-winning Creamy Tomato soup from GreenHouse.

And winning third place was Oldestone’s pear and parsnip soup made by Chef Ed Jorden. The soup is made with a purée of pear and parsnips, along with aromatics and garnished with thyme leaves and nutmeg.

“This is always fun and to win is even better,” said Michael Sklar, the owner of Oldestone and GreenHouse. He was joined on stage by Oldestone Manager Sarah Naranjo in accepting the recognition.

Rosato said afterwards that she was pleased with the event and the outpouring from the community who dropped off donations of canned goods and non-perishables for the food bank and who turned out for the cookoff.

“It’s a win-win,” she said, noting that the restaurants get some public exposure for their food and the public gets a taste of the thriving New Hope-Lambertville restaurant scene. Plus money is raised to help feed the less fortunate in the community, she said.

Other restaurants taking part were Logan Inn (Italian White Bean), Lambertville House (Tomato Bisque), Triumph Brewery (Escarole and Bean), Soulberry Market (Tom Kha Gai), Under the Moon (Clam Chowder) and Lambertville Station (Crab and Corn Chowder).

The event was sponsored by Revolutionary Crawls and Events, Stephan Design & Construction, Niece Lumber and SMC Global.

Under the Moon featured a delicious clam chowder.

Soulberry Market featured a Tom Kha Gai soup.