Spiedie Cooking Contest sets precedent for future, woman travels 600 miles to win title

Heat sweltered toward 100 degrees Sunday at 2022's Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally, where 25 entrants tried their hands at creating the best spiedie in what was billed as a "revamped" Spiedie Cooking Contest.

Chairs lined the bracket-shaped enclosure Sunday afternoon at the Backyard Chef Championship as contestants in categories of chicken, pork, lamb, and beef grilled their own iterations of spiedies at Otsiningo Park.

Contestants came from North Carolina, Philadelphia, Nashville, and Delaware, while also including local talent and some first-time entrants. Waiving the entry fee seemed to help boost participation in the contest, which also drew some younger competitors.

"We want to introduce [the Spiedie Cooking Contest] to a younger generation who will carry it through the years and make it a fun family event that is an important part of Spiedie Fest," co-organizer Rick Dodd said.

"Cooking is in my family a lot, it's good to eat and it's fun to explore," Andrew Chudacik, 12, one of the younger contestants, said after placing second in the chicken category.

Hollie Malinovsky Isom, a longtime participant in the contest, took home the overall championship. She's made the trip up from North Carolina to compete in the contest for the past 10 years after growing up in Whitney Point.

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She's won in individual categories before, but said it felt good to be the overall champion.

"The previous times I've been (involved), it seemed like a secondary part of the festival," Malinovski Isom said of the cooking contest. "We were really excited for it this year. They did a good job promoting it."