LINCOLN SQUARE — Competing against dozens of chefs from around the globe at the recent World Food Championships, Lance Avery, founder of Big Fork Brands bacon sausage, notched one of the highest scores ever handed out in the contest's four-year history with his "Chew Before You Inhale" burger.
The ground ribeye pattie, blended with trumpet mushrooms and a touch of portabella powder, was topped with bacon, sauteed chanterelles, smashed avocado, lobster mushroom aioli, a thick-cut tomato slice and cheddar cheese and served on a buttered potato bun.
Judges awarded the creation 98.75 points out of 100, putting Avery atop the first-round leader board in the best burger category, ahead of nearly 50 other contestants.
"It scored the best out of not only all burgers ... but all dishes served and judged at the entire competition," Avery said.
So where can the average Chicagoan sink his or her teeth into this bit of beef heaven that set judges' hearts fluttering and their mouths watering?
Nowhere, yet.
Patty Wetli says the burger was the best in the world, for a few hours:
Big Fork's business offices are located at 2707 W. Lawrence Ave. and its line of bacon sausages can be found at grocers both large and small across the city, but there's no home for Avery's competitive concoctions.
That could be about to change.
"I'm talking to some restaurateurs right now," said Avery, who holds a culinary degree from the Art Institute of Colorado and specializes in research and development of food products.
"If I find the right operator, it would be a great headquarters for Big Fork," he said. "We have a nice little vision for it."
In the meantime, Avery continues to build buzz for Big Fork by taking part in events like the World Food Championships, where he ultimately finished fourth after a second round of burger judging.
A veteran of Chicago's Culinary Fight Club — yes, you can talk about it — Avery is no stranger to cooking under pressure. That's how he qualified for the world championships, held in Kissimmee, Fla., in the first place.
"To get in, you've had to win something — you're on a serious hot streak," he said. "Everyone that's there, they're all great competitors."
That said, even an experienced contestant trips up occasionally, and Avery did so literally in Florida.
With a minute left on the clock in the burger challenge, Avery stumbled as he raced to deliver his dish to the judges table.
The fried pickle spear that crowned his creation like the topper on a wedding cake went flying and fell to the ground. The miscue would cost crucial points, a realization Avery and the crowd arrived at simultaneously.
"Hundreds of people go, 'Ooooh,'" he recalled. "It was high stakes drama."
He stepped away from the finish line and his teammate dashed back to the Big Fork work station to grab a replacement spear.
"Of course we only had one left," Avery said.
He finally presented his burger, pickle firmly secured to bun, with just seconds to spare, and admitted that timing is not his forte.
"I feel like there's always a last-minute fiasco. It was insanely stressful," he said. "There's literally sweat squirting out of you."
His efforts were rewarded with that near-perfect score and even though his second-round burger didn't fare as well, Avery's Round One performance was enough to earn him an offer to take part in the event's Kansas City Steak Co. High Steaks Invitational.
The catch: the invitational, which pitted high scorers from the championship's nine categories against each other, kicked off just after the burger finale.
"We were the only team competing back to back, giving us zero time for preparation and organization," Avery said.
"I literally ran through the grocery store with no plan for what we're going to do," Avery said. "Everyone else has their meat and their equipment. From a chef perspective it was a disaster. We came in at a disadvantage."
Based on the results, Avery should always cook under adverse conditions.
His pair of steaks — a bone-in strip served with fingerling potatoes and a beef tenderloin sauteed in mushrooms and served with bacon jam a stilton cheese — took first place.
"We're like, 'Whoa. What's going on here?'" Avery said. "We had a great, wild ride."
The victories kept coming.
On the heels of his success at the World Food Championships, Avery traveled to Las Vegas where he was crowned the winner of the inaugural Extreme Bacon Bite Challenge held Saturday.
His bacon sundae and "Pig, Pig, Goose" appetizer — pork rinds, seared foie gras and fried bacon sausage — carried the day. And, just saying, they happen to sound like the beginnings of an amazing restaurant menu.
Burgers! #Chicago Chefs in the Kitchen throwing down @WorldFoodChamp @BFBaconSausage @theburgerchamp @conecepts13 pic.twitter.com/54iQwTuLS7
— Culinary Fight Club (@ChefFight) November 6, 2015Congrats to Chef Lance @BFBaconSausage 4 placing Top 10 in Burger @WorldFoodChamp We're celebrating w/ @BullOutdoor pic.twitter.com/mBTtSJZGAT
— Culinary Fight Club (@ChefFight) November 7, 2015Congrats to Chef Lance @BFBaconSausage for placing #1 in burger in @WorldFoodChamp after round 1 @ChefFight is here! pic.twitter.com/eZ4Cli3O9K
— Anthony Martorina (@ant_kneee) November 7, 2015Congrats Chef Lance @BFBaconSausage for winning @KCSteaks Challenge. #Chicago #CulinaryFightClub is proud @ant_kneee pic.twitter.com/GgeLXuPdiv
— Culinary Fight Club (@ChefFight) November 8, 2015Congrats to Chef Lance @BFBaconSausage on an amazing run @WorldFoodChamp You made #Chicago proud! #WFC2015 pic.twitter.com/vqYWcorlmh
— Culinary Fight Club (@ChefFight) November 9, 2015We are on a roll! Winning! Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival #vegas https://t.co/J63cZYrztX
— Big Fork Brands (@BFBaconSausage) November 15, 2015For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
