Honorary judges announced for Eggs On the Beach 

Tasters join honorary judges to vote for favorites, support local causes

Oct. 6, 2022
Special to 30A Food & Wine

MIRAMAR BEACH – The annual Big Green Egg cooking competition, Eggs on the Beach, returns to Seascape Towne Centre on Saturday, Oct. 15. Presented by Bay Breeze Patio, the delicious competition challenges cook teams to get creative with recipes created on the Big Green Egg. In addition to competing for taster votes, cook teams will work to impress a panel of five honorary judges.

Visiting from Austin, Texas, is Chef John O’Neil, the legendary Texas barbecue spice creator of Dude Food Fire. He joins local judges including award-winning chef Al Massa of Brotula’s Seafood House, private chef Kali Davis, Seagar’s Prime Steaks & Seafood GM Mike McIntosh, and freelance food writer Abigail Abesamis Demarest to judge bites from more than 20 cook teams.

Chef O’Neil attended Scottsdale Culinary Institute and worked in kitchens from Arizona to Texas with renowned chefs ranging from Chef Bernie Kantak of Cowboy Caio and Chef Nobou Fukuda of SeaSaw. He’s owned a coffee shop in Boulder, Colo.; authored teaching manuals, including Fundamentals of Stocks and Sauces; and is now producing legendary Texas barbecue rubs under his label, Dude Food Fire.

The festival will be held on the deck overlooking the pond at the Seascape Towne Centre. With the Seascape outdoor tiki bar as the centerpiece and flat screen TVs airing the top college football games, tasters walk the perimeter sampling unlimited bites. Live music, a Knob Creek tasting area, seasonal beer samples from Abita Brewery and Grayton Beer Company as well as opportunities to win prizes, including a mini-Max Big Green Egg, enhance the Eggs on the Beach experience.

Proceeds from Eggs on the Beach benefit The Fisher House of the Emerald Coast, which provides a home away from home for military families during medical treatment, and Food for Thought, which aims to fight childhood hunger and food insecurity among students in Walton and Okaloosa counties. Since its inception in 2013, Eggs on the Beach has donated more than $205,500 to local non-profits.

Eggs on the Beach will take place from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15. Tickets are $45 in advance and $55 day of the event. Learn more and purchase tickets at www.EggsontheBeach.com.