Budweiser and David Chang, the chef behind New York’s famous Momofuku empire, are crossing the country to find the best amateur burger chefs in America. Chefs were invited to upload a 15-second video or photo and describe why they deserved to be the Bud & Burgers Champion. A handful of chefs were then selected to compete at semifinal events across the country and the winners would be sent to the finals in St. Louis for a chance at $100,000 and the title of Bud & Burgers Champion! Lakeshore Beverage stopped in at the Chicago semifinals at Blues Fest to drink some beer, taste some burgers and cast our vote.
We spent time at the bar with Anheuser-Busch Brewmaster, George Reisch to talk about Bud and Burgers competition and find out why a cold Bud pairs so well with a well-crafted burger.
Lakeshore Beverage: Tell us about the background of Bud and Burgers? What inspired you to start this competition?
George Reisch: Nearest we can tell, at the 1904 World’s Fair, the Hamburger was invented. Over 20 million people came from around the world to St. Louis, including a vendor who served a beef patty sandwich that he called “The Hamburger.” In 1901 we sold 1 million barrels of Budwesier, so chances are, that burger was probably served with a Bud.
This year we decided in the spirit of that story we would inspire amateur chefs who think they make the best burger to compete. We put out the word, people submitted their videos, photos and recipes and they were interviewed and vetted. And now we’ve been going around the country, hosting semifinal cook-offs for two winners to compete head to head.
Here in Chicago, we have two completely different chefs who’ve flown in to Blues Fest and people are tasting their burgers on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The winner will then go to St. Louis on July 11th to be judged by David Chang ,and we’re going to pick the winner who will walk away with $100,000 to start their own restaurant.
Lakeshore Beverage: How do you advise people to judge the burgers they’re trying?
George Reisch: I tell people to imagine they have two friends that want them to invest in their restaurant. They’re both going to cook a burger and all you know is those burgers in front of you. You bet on the best one that day.
Lakeshore Beverage: What makes Budweiser such a strong pairing with good burgers?
George Reisch: Budweiser is a fermentation-dominated beer which means it’s going to be really humble and stay in the background. Budwieser is the person holding the train of the bride walking down the aisle. Very important job. It can’t be about the beer, it’s got to be about the burger. That’s why Budweiser goes so well with so many different foods, because it’s about the food, not about the beer. We think it’s the perfect pairing.
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