When the time for lunch came, hundreds of people in the Greater Moncton area all chose the same thing Tuesday – soup.
The United Way of Greater Moncton and Southeast New Brunswick’s Soupfest took place at the Moncton Coliseum drawing in about 850 soup lovers at two sold-out tastings.
“I wish I had a slightly bigger stomach because I’m getting full now,” said Shelley Hunter who has been attending for over 10 years.
“It’s just a ritual. It’s almost like a touchstone, something you look forward to every year. When the tickets go on sale, boom you buy them, because you just know it’s going to be something really fun to go to.”
On the menu for this year’s Soupfest were 27 unique recipes from 26 restaurants.
Attendees had one hour to eat as much soup as possible.
“There’s a system. You always bring a friend. Bring your container to hold all your cups, but we come because it’s fun. It’s a little challenge to get all the soups in in one hour,” said long-time attendee Julie Fairweather.
Fairweather adds it’s also an opportunity to see what local restaurants have to offer, making it easier to pick lunch spots throughout the year. Soup-enthusiasts even had the chance to vote for their favourite bowl.
“Nigel, our chef at Atelier Tony, he won last year so he’s here to hopefully hold onto his title,” said Jordan Holden with Atelier Tony and Tony’s Bistro & Pâtisserie.
“Tony’s Bistro always produces great soup, so we have our chef Martin who has made an incredible parsnip soup, he’s looking to steal the title from Nigel.”
Holden and his sous-chef Jillian Clarke just returned home from winning silver at the Canadian Culinary Championships and said friendly competition makes chefs better.
“With New Brunswick, we are so much smaller than the other provinces. We don’t really get that national recognition that I truly believe we deserve. We’ve got so many incredible chefs here, but I don’t think the other provinces really recognize that. So if we were able to do our part just a little bit and showcase what we do here then we’ve achieved our goal,” he said.
Atelier Tony and Tony’s Bistro & Pâtisserie have been participating in Soupfest for six or seven years now.
“It’s for a great cause and it’s a lot of fun to be in the same room with all the other great local restaurants and have a little friendly competition,” said Holden.
While the event promises delicious food and full bellies, the heart of the initiative is much more than just a tasty lunch tradition.
“All the money that we raise here goes directly back into our community fund and our community fund is what funds all of the programs and the agencies that we work with,” said Stephanie Brignolio, the relation and resource manager with United Way.
“It’s to bring people from poverty to possibility, helping them find those resources around and this is exactly what we needed, the community to support those things.”
Brignolio says the event was originally run by the Agency to Support Single Families, but has been with United Way for a number of years and is an essential part of their fundraising campaign. This year alone, the United Way is hoping to raise $2.4M.
“We’ve been asked several times to make more sessions, but we find that this is quite enough. As you can tell, it’s so busy and people love it,” she said.
“These restaurants are donating their soups back to us so that we can then sell tickets, so again, all the money that we’re raising goes directly back into the United Way and our Agencies.”
Jeff Gamble, with Gallagher’s Irish Pub, says he’s been cooking soup for the event since its inception. However, this is the first year he got to attend in person.
“It’s a creative way to get together. Money raised for good foundations and what not and just put your name out there. Lets everybody see exactly what we can do at the pub,” said Gamble.
Nineteen years after the inaugural event, organizers say there are no plans to slow down.
“It’s amazing because this is exactly why we do this, to bring the community together,” said Brignolio.
For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
