Sutter Home Crowns Sweet & Smoky Beef Burger Winner of Build A Better Burger Contest

Phyllis O’Shaughnessy from Naperville, IL Impresses Judges with her Sweet & Smoky Beef Burger and Takes Home the $25,000 Grand Prize.

Sutter Home Family Vineyards, one of America’s favorite wine brands, announced today that Phyllis O’Shaughnessy from Naperville, IL is the Grand Prize Winner of the 25th Annual Sutter Home Build a Better Burger® Recipe Contest. The winning recipe dazzled judges with its unique smoked Spanish paprika as the base for a delicious and spicy aioli spread, and topped with pickled saffron pears, Manchego cheese, crispy prosciutto and crushed garlic on a sesame seed bun. Wine and burger enthusiasts across America also got a taste of the competition by voting for their favorite burger online and from the nominations, the public named Lily Julow’s Garam Masala Lamb Burger this year’s $5,000 People’s Choice Winner.

The 25th Annual Sutter Home Build A Better Burger® Recipe Contest featured exciting twists on America’s favorite meal and in addition to the grand prize, four runners-up each received $1,000 towards the purchase of Weber® products for their delicious burger recipes.

Grand Prize Winner and Runner-Up Recipes:

Grand Prize Winner: Sweet & Smoky Beef Burgers with Pickled Saffron Pears, Crispy Prosciutto and Smoky Paprika Aioli. Recipe by Phyllis O’Shaughnessy, Naperville, IL

1st Runner Up: Bratty Patty Pork Burgers with Caramelized Sauerkraut and Curry Ketchup. Recipe by Julie Merriman, Seattle, WA

2nd Runner Up: A Little Heat Pineapple Pork Burgers with Cashew Bacon Crumble and Creamy Caraway Slaw. Recipe by Meredith Frye, Waverly, AL

3rd Runner Up: Garam Masala Lamb Burgers with Sweet Dates and Salty Bacon Lardons. Recipe by Lily Julow, Lawrenceville, GA

4th Runner Up: Jamaican Rum Jerk Burgers with Rum-Cola glaze, Jicama Cilantro Slaw and Jerk Mayonnaise. Recipe by Ashley Lyth, Brooklyn, New York

“I’m a fan of a juicy, all-beef burger topped with salty bacon and melted cheese. After tasting so many incredible variations on the classic, it was hard to choose the best. I loved the spice – the burger really lived up to its name.”
– Judge Sharon Ufberg, writer for the Huffington Post

“Every burger I tasted was fun and delicious. Phyllis’s recipe seemed simple at first, but she added some extra steps to make sure it stood out from the rest. This unassuming yet fantastically mouth-watering burger had the most balance of flavors.”
– Judge Liren Baker, writer and creator of the food blog, Kitchen Confidante

“This has been such a positive experience for me from beginning to end. It has created an once-in-a-lifetime memory that I’m never going to forget.”
– Phyllis O’Shaughnessy

“Congratulations to Phyllis and the runners-up for their imaginative and delicious recipes in the Sutter Home Build a Better Burger® Recipe Contest. In 1990, Sutter Home uncorked the wine industry’s first major recipe contest: Build a Better Burger®. Today, the contest remains one of the most successful wine promotions in history. The talent and imagination displayed every year continues to amaze us and we are thrilled to receive so many entries that brought everyday cooks in the kitchen to make memorable burger recipes for their family and friends.”
– Wendy Nyberg, Vice President of Marketing for Sutter Home

The 2016 Sutter Home Build a Better Burger® recipe contest is open now and runs through July 31, 2016. To enter the contest and for additional information or to access past Sutter Home Build a Better Burger® recipes, visit SutterHome.com.