Much soup for you!
The Port Washington Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 4 is hosting the 10th annual SOUPer Bowl for residents in and around Port Washington to enjoy a variety of soups from local restaurants.
The annual event, at the Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church at 100 Fairway Drive, offers the community a chance to taste and rate soups from local restaurants.
“It’s a really popular event in Port Washington,” said Bobbie Polay, executive director of the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a nice lunch for people and they enjoy getting to see what restaurants in Port have to offer.”
Polay said the event drew over 500 people last year, and attendance seems to grow every year.
“Last year when we opened the doors, people were waiting on lines around the corner,” Polay said.
The event runs from noon to 3 p.m., and for $7 for adults and $3 for children under 12, attendees receive a two-ounce bowl of soup from 16 or 17 restaurants.
Sixteen restaurants participated last year.
The public will vote on the best soup and the winner will be named the “SOUPer Bowl Champ.”
Part of the proceeds and the leftover soup will be donated to Our Lady of Fatima Social Ministry.
Polay said attendees are also encouraged to bring nonperishable foods to be donated, and last year around three cartons of food were donated.
Before the event is open to the community, a panel of celebrity judges will be brought in to pick the “Judges’ Choice Award.”
Judges try each restaurant’s soup and rate it on a ballot.
The judges this year are Julian Phillips, a news anchor and celebrity chef; Len Berman, a news anchor; Christine Sanchez, a chef and culinary consultant; Ann Arter from Daniel Gale, one of the event’s top sponsors; Joseph Canigiani from Joseph Canigiani Inc., a top sponsor; and Robbie Graham from the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults.
Polay said for a winter event, the SOUPer Bowl is very popular in town, and although it is not an outdoor event, it stills draws people from all over Long Island.
Catherine O’ Neill, the manager of Sullivan’s Quay, a restaurant that has participated in the event since its inception, said it’s a way for the community to connect with its restaurants and for restaurants to connect with customers.
“It’s amazing to get everyone in the town together for the event,” O’Neill said. “And the voting even brings on a friendly rivalry between the restaurants.
Polay said restaurants have told her that people will try their soups and then go to the restaurant and request the soup.
“People enjoy getting to see what the restaurants have to offer, and we hear a lot that they try a soup and go there and order it,” Polay said. “We want people to know the different restaurants in town.”
The chamber offers four levels of sponsorship for the event: the fan, which is a $100 contribution; the assistant coach, a $250 donation; the head coach, a $500 donation; and the commissioner, a $1,000 donation.
