Jalapeño peppers helped power Del Fuego to a decisive win in Sunday’s annual Irish soda bread contest at BrickHouse Brewery in Patchogue.
The contest is held during the Passing of the Sash ceremony, during which last year’s St. Patrick’s Parade grand marshal officials hands over the green, white and orange to the incoming grand marshal.
This year’s grand marshal is Patchogue lawyer Tom Keegan (pictured below), who founded the parade 20 years ago and has run it ever since,
Duel Fuego was the “hands down” winner in the contest, which is done blindly, said David Kennedy, the executive director of the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the contest.
The soda breads are numbered and tasters vote by number.
‘Even though it was a blind tasting, I knew it had to be Del Fuego when you tasted it,” he said. “But who would have thought, peppers in Irish soda bread?”
Eight local eateries participated in the contest. Del Fuego’s first-place win was followed by Public House 49 in second and Swan Bakery in third.
The St. Patrick’s Parade is Sunday, March 19. The festivities get underway with the annual running of the “May the Road Rise to Meet Ye” 5k at 11:55 a.m. The parade itself starts at Route 112 and East Main Street at noon and ends at West Avenue — on the other side of the village.
photos by Benny Migliorino of Benny Migs Photo
