09/26/2026
🏆 SPONSOR’S CHOICE AWARD! 🏆
Last night was Daniel’s FIRST EVER cooking competition… but the best part was what we were all there for — supporting the FOCP BackPack Food Program. 💚
This one is very personal to us.
Over the years, we’ve seen firsthand how programs like this impact people we know, people we love, families in our communities and even members of our own team. Sometimes you have no idea what someone is carrying outside of the few hours you see them each day.
A backpack of food may seem small, but to the person who needs it, it can mean one less worry, one less meal to figure out, and knowing someone in their community cares. 💚
Being able to use food to help provide food — while doing something Daniel genuinely loves — made saying yes pretty easy.
Coming home with the Sponsor’s Choice Award on top of it?! 🥹🏆 THAT we definitely weren’t expecting.😭
I’ve always known what Daniel is capable of. I get a front-row seat to that brain of his every day. The ideas, creativity, flavors and talent — that is Daniel.
For last night’s competition, he took jumbo shrimp, coated them in a crunchy Cheez-It crust, fried them golden and finished them with his homemade pickle aioli. 🦐🔥 In pure Daniel fashion… he looked at Cheez-Its + shrimp and said trust me. 😂
Watching him be present & surrounded by so many well-known, incredibly talented chefs — including people & restaurants we’ve secretly looked up to for YEARS even though they probably don’t even know we exist 😝🤣 — honestly felt like an honor before an award was ever announced. ❤️🩹
And like everything we do… none of this happened with just the two of us.
Yesterday started with a catering, rolled straight into Homecoming night in Madelia, and somewhere in there we decided a cooking competition sounded like a good idea too. 🤪😂
Our team is tiny but MIGHTY.
Daniel may be the brain and talent behind the food and crazy ideas, but there’s an entire crew doing all the behind-the-scenes work that makes those ideas possible. Prepping. Cleaning. Stocking. Serving. Washing dishes. Taking care of guests. Taking care of our kids. The list is endless, and we will never take it for granted. 💚
They also told me we could decorate our booth. ✨ Apparently they meant the table. I did NOT understand the assignment. 😝 Go figure!
So naturally, I decorated us a whole mini Mexican village. 🇲🇽🌵🙃💃
And if you got one of our FREE lime squishy stress balls 🍋🟩 — those were inspired by our daughter because buying squishies seems to be all I work for these days. 🫠
Last night reminded me there are SoOoO many people behind one little award — our staff, the people who take care of our babies, our family, our customers and this community that continues to show up for us.
But the coolest part?
Last night really wasn’t about an award.
A room full of people came together, used what they’re good at, and helped put food into the hands of kids who need it. ❤️
Getting to be a small part of THAT means more to us than I can put into words.
First competition. 🏆 Not too bad, Chef Daniel. 😉😍🔥
So incredibly proud of you — and incredibly grateful we got to do something we love for a cause that means so much. 💚
