2024 State Fair of Texas Big Tex Choice Award winners announced
The 20th annual Big Tex Choice competition culminated Thursday afternoon with the three most sought-after titles: Best Taste – Savory, Best Taste – Sweet, and Best Taste – Creative.
The 2024 Big Tex Choice Award winners are:
Best Taste – Savory: Dominican Fritura Dog by Justin Martinez
Best Taste – Sweet: Rousso’s Cotton Candy Bacon on a Stick by Isaac Rousso
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Most Creative – Texas Sugar Rush Pickles, by Heather Perkins
The annual competition began earlier this year with a record-breaking 65 entries by more than 40 different concessionaries.
The top ten finalists went head-to-head Thursday competing for one of the three titles.
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Following an entertaining evaluation by five celebrity judges scoring each dish on four elements: uniqueness, creativity, presentation, and taste.
The winner in the creative category left the judges equal parts confused and delighted.
Perkins’ colorful cup is packed full of cotton candy pickle slices, three breakfast cereal varieties, sugar crystals, powdered sugar drizzled with strawberry sundae syrup and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
“I just thought of my childhood memories,” said Perkins. “It’s very sweet but it’s still good.”
Two familiar faces were crowned winners this year.
Isaac Rousso and his son created what is sure to stand out in the crowd.
A thick, 12-inch piece of bacon, spun inside a cotton candy machine and torched to leave a caramelized coating on top.
“Who doesn’t love cotton candy?” he asked. “It’s savory but it’s still sweet.”
Justin Martinez has already won a Big Tex Choice Award four times.
This year, he kept his late father in mind hoping to challenge himself to make something special in his honor.
Martinez dug deep, pushing himself to create a savory dish with a Dominican flair, although the family is of Mexican descent.
The savory dish includes a double deep-fried corn dog, split open and topped with Dominican salami, fritura cheese, garlic plantain chips, and his “top-secret” Dominican sauce.
“My dad started out here in 1977 at the State Fair of Texas, born and raised in this environment. I wanted to do this one for him,” said Martinez. “The State Fair of Texas is your opportunity to try something new and different that you wouldn’t typically try and I think once they try it, they’re going to love it.”