A cheesy contest in the Blue Mountains is bringing lovers of the popular food together on a quest to look for the region’s best grilled cheese sandwich.
‘The Big Cheese’ contest kicked off earlier this month, spearheaded by the team at The Cheese Gallery in Thornbury. The competition has 16 local restaurants from across the region creating authentic grilled cheese sandwiches, all vying to be the region’s favourite.
“We thought this could be a great time for locals, visitors and seasonal homeowners to move around the area and support our food industry,” says Casey Thompson, the owner of The Cheese Gallery, who came up with the idea for the contest. “Our restaurants have been hit very hard in the pandemic, and this is a great way to do something fun.”
The offerings in the contest from the 16 participating restaurants are available through dine-in or take-out options.
“It’s really interesting how everyone’s taking the idea of a grilled cheese and really making it their own,” says Sarah McNulty, the manager of The Cheese Gallery. “Some of the chefs in some of the restaurants are using meat; they are doing all different kinds of bread treatments.”
While the businesses are trying to set themselves apart from the competition, Thompson says the contest is also bringing the community together, with many of the restaurants leaning on each other for things like supplies.
“Community is very important in a small community, especially when you run a small business in a small community,” Thompson says. “You need the support of everybody. All of my staff actually live in Thornbury, so they are not only working in the community; they are living and breathing in the community.”
The contest has received funding from The Town of the Blue Mountains. It will run through the rest of the month.
For details on participating vendors, you can click here.
