Dayton937

Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

Food Truck Competition

35 Food Trucks Vie for $9K at Springfield Rotary Food Truck Competition

By

The “must-taste” event of the year rolls back into Springfield this Saturday as food trucks near and far vie for supremacy at the 11th Springfield Rotary Gourmet Food Truck Competition. The regional favorite event will once again bring palate-pleasing mobile cuisine, live entertainment and fun for the entire family from 11 am to 7 pm in Veterans Park. All proceeds from the event will benefit Rotary’s various charitable causes.

“This event continues to attract wonderful food trucks, great entertainment and amazing crowds, including those who bring chairs and tents and stay all day,” said Eddie Bell, past Rotary president and Food Truck Competition marketing committee chair. “Food truck owners consistently tell us this is among their favorite events. It really is a showcase that brings out the best of the city and the region.”

Up to 30 food trucks will line the park’s path with gourmet goodies, keeping attendees fed from brunch through dinner. In addition to standard American fare, comfort foods and sweet treats, trucks will feature cultural creations from Africa, Asia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico and more. In addition to beverages offered by the trucks, a beer garden will feature domestic and local craft brews from Mother Stewart’s Brewing Company, with soda and water also available for purchase.

Past champions join returning favorites and new competitors alike, putting forth their best dishes for $10,000 in prizes. The $5,000 grand prize, $2,500 runner-up and $1,500 third-place prize will be determined by local celebrity/chef judges including:

●  Lisa Freeman – Chef/Owner of Crust & Company, Salato Deli and Torte & Iron Cafe

●  Bryan Fuentes – Chef, Viva La Fiesta

●  Clayton Horrighs – Chef/Owner of Speakeasy Ramen and Hi-Hat Social

●  Doug McGregor – Chef/Owner of Seasons Kitchen

●  Korge Mori – Lieutenant with the Springfield Fire Rescue Division and former operator of Ramen Rickshaw food truck; past recipient of Springfield Rotary’s Service Above Self Award

The coveted $1,000 “People’s Choice” award will be determined by attendees’ votes using the Springfield Food Truck Mobile app, available on both Apple and Android devices.

Winners will be announced on the park stage at approximately 4:45 pm Saturday.

A number of talented local musicians will perform for attendees throughout the competition, including:

●  Andy Fox (11 a.m.-1 p.m.)

●  Add On Room (1-3 p.m.)

●  Mountain Vain (3-5 p.m.)

●  KC & The Moonlighters (5-7 p.m.)

Springfield Rotary has partnered with Crafts for a Cause to host an Arts and Crafts show featuring 20 talented artisans during the competition. Attendees will be able to explore a wide variety of creative finds, from home decor and jewelry to seasonal gifts and specialty items while enjoying the food, entertainment and atmosphere of the day.

A single, large 50/50 drawing will also be held at 6 pm as opposed to multiple smaller drawings at previous events. Participants need not be present to win.

“The competition tastes, smells and sounds good, but it also does a lot of good, too,” said Bell, noting that all proceeds from sponsorships, concessions, the 50/50 drawing and other sources go towards various charitable Rotary projects.

“We’re proud to have raised more than $300,000 through this event over the past decade that we’ve reinvested throughout and beyond the Springfield community,” he said. This includes

services for people with disabilities, scholarships, local projects, the International Project in Lesotho and more.

Springfield Rotary Gourmet Food Truck Competition

Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025

11 am to 7 pm

Veterans Park (formerly known as Cliff Park)

For complete details and updates about participating food trucks, the entertainment schedule, competition and more, visit springfieldfoodtruck.com,  or download the Springfield Food Truck mobile app for Android and Apple devices.

 

Twisted Greek Wins $5k Prize at Food Truck Competition

By

Thirty-two food trucks rolled into Veterans Park in Springfield Saturday for the ninth Springfield Rotary Gourmet Food Truck Competition, but only one of them rolled out of town as the grand prize winner.

Twisted Greek from West Chester, Ohio earned the $5,000 grand prize for its signature dish, The Midas Touch, a feta stuffed lamb and wagyu slider with pickled red onion, marinated tomatoes and arugula. The winner was determined by a panel of local chef judges, as well as anonymous roving judges during the event.

“This is our second time competing, first time winning,” said Stephen Spyrou, owner of Twisted Greek. “This is awesome. To be competing against friends and fellow food truckers is an awesome experience. We’re super excited.”

You can get a taste of the award winning Twisted Greek on Fri, Aug 25th at the 2nd Annual Trans Am Cruise in at the Fairfield Commons or on Sat, Sept 16th at the Yellow Springs Porch Fest or Sat, Sept 30th at Centerville’s Fall Fest at Stubbs Park.

Dine-In Hawaiian from Hamilton, Ohio was named the $2,500 runner-up for its soy-braised pork belly with crispy pork skin, sunomono, miso soy reduction and micro garnish.

Fetty’s Street Food from Columbus, Ohio was awarded the $1,500 third place prize for its Samosa Chaat with denningvleis, a South African and Indian mashup of traditional and inspired flavors and textures including homemade flaky aloo (potato) samosa smashed together with a chickpea curry, fresh tomato salad, herbs and truck-made masala chaat (street food and spice power) topped with denningvleis, 24-hour roasted lamb shoulder cooked with palm sugar and tamarind.

Chef judges determined winning dishes based upon a combination of flavor/taste, presentation/visual appeal and creativity/originality. The panel included:

Over 700 attendees used the Springfield Food Truck mobile app to vote for their favorite truck throughout the event, with Fat Rack’s Smoking Company from South Vienna, Ohio taking home the “People’s Choice” $1,000 prize.

“We’re just a couple of big brothers who like to sling barbeque.” said Ryan Krugh, co-owner of Fat Racks. “We have a great support network.”

This is the fourth time the Krugh Brothers have taken home the People’s Choice Award. They have entered five of the competition’s nine years.

In addition to the competition’s extensive food truck line-up, this year’s event once again featured live music from local bands and artists, including Mike Manley and Katie Harford, Andy Fox, The Factory Line and Terrapin Moon.

Attendees, both new and returning, continue to praise the Springfield Rotary Club for hosting a top-notch event enjoyed by residents across the region.

“This is our first food truck competition,” said Robert Harris of Springfield. “We feel like we are on Food Network, and we get to judge all of the food trucks. This is an event for us.”

The competition is a place for families and friends to enjoy fun and food.

“I’m a student at Wittenberg University so this event is in my backyard,” said Jasmine Evans of New Carlisle, Ohio. “I brought my mom down to have a fun day and enjoy some yummy food.”

While food truck vendors kept their sales revenue from the day, all money raised from concession sales, corporate sponsorships and donations benefit the many charitable causes of the Springfield Rotary Club. The amount raised from the previous eight years of the event totals more than $300,000.

“People come for the food, drinks and live entertainment, but what they don’t realize is the impact this event has on our community year-round, especially local people with disabilities,” said Bell. “We intend to bring this event back bigger and better every year for many years to come; after all, it’s Springfield’s must-taste event of the summer.”

Missed the event?  Don’t worry, they’ll do it again next August!