2012 SOUPer Bowl is Saturday

Get ready for the fifth annual SOUPer Bowl, which kicks off Saturday from 12-3 p.m. at at the Fellowship Hall in the .

Sponsored by the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce, the SOUPer Bowl is the chance to come in from the cold, and enjoy a warm and tasty lunch prepared by some of the area's best chefs. 

Here's what to expect: 19 local restaurants and food establishments will be donating their best soups for the contest and hope to be voted Port Washington’s 2012 SOUPer Bowl Champ. The public is invited to “buy a spoon” and become a “taster.”

According to the chamber, tasters, after paying the admission fee, are given a hand stamp and a ballot. The hand stamp allows tasters to sample two ounces of each of the soups donated by the restaurants. The soups range from a delicate miso soup to an exotic mulligatawny, and delicious standards like healthy chicken noodle and hearty New England clam chowder. The restaurants also provide bread and crackers free for a complete lunch. Tasters then vote for their favorites, and when all the ballots are tallied, the 2012 SOUPer Bowl Champ is determined. The winner will receive the “People’s Choice Award.” 

Two local celebrities will be joining the Judges’ Panel this year. The judges are:

, sportscaster; Christine Sanchez, sous chef for Bobby Flay; Anne Arter, gourmet and representative of Commissioner Sponsor

; Wendy Collett, personal chef and owner of Dry Babe, and Marquavious Gregg, a deaf-blind student from the

who plans to go into the food service business and is interning at St. Francis Hospital. The winner, as determined by a vote of the panel, is given the prestigious “Judges’ Choice Award.” 

To add to the fun, a raffle will be held with the grand prize of a $100 gift certificate to a SOUPer participating restaurant of the winner’s choice. Second place is a $75 gift certificate and third prize is a $50 gift certificate.

The participating food establishments are: 

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , Mojito Cafe, , ,  and 

The COMMISSIONER Sponsors of SOUPer Bowl 2012 are , Inc., and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty. HEAD COACH Sponsors are , , and  The ASSISTANT COACH sponsor is and the FANS are the and PortWashingtonPatch.com.

Pay at the door: a $7 “touchdown” fee for adults and a $3 “field goal” fee for children under 12. The chamber will donate a portion of the net proceeds to the . There is plenty of free parking. For more information, call the Chamber of Commerce at 883-6566 or email pwcoc@optonline.net.