Munch Madness 2015: The Chick-fil-A copycat wins!
I won’t keep you in suspense. I know what you’re here to find out.
Hilah Cooking‘s “Chick-fil-Gay” sandwich has run away with Munch Madness 2015! Of all the ultra-popular copycat recipes we tested, reviewed and voted on, the readers have decided that this was the one that felt right. This was the one you could see yourselves making, and making again. This is the ultimate copycat recipe!
Brackets
Applying ESPN’s scoring (10, 20, 40, 80 for correct guesses in our four rounds), there is a clear bracket winner. With 210 points, we have reader Melissa Strong! Congratulations, Melissa! We’ll be in touch soon with prize information!
While scoring your own brackets, you may find it interesting to know that at least one person who filled out a complete bracket managed to score only ten points. Ten! This whole tournament was an upset for anybody with a ten-point bracket.
Many Thanks
Before signing off and bringing this year’s Munch Madness event to a close, I’d like to sincerely thank everyone who voted, everyone who read our reviews, everyone who published a copycat recipe that wound up on the bracket, and of course our amazing judges. Without all of you, Munch Madness would just be me sitting on the floor of our kitchen, faking crowd noise and complaining about recipes where the salt in the ingredients list never appears in the instructions. So thank you, and I’ll see you next year for a new game of Munch Madness.
Once again before we go, let’s hear it for the Munch Madness 2015 judges! They put a lot into their reviews and not only were their efforts entertaining, but they made it possible to discover with scientific accuracy which copycat recipe is best. If you see any of these people around, give them a high five or a smooch or a dollar (as appropriate) and tell them they’re the best, because they are.
- Jim Behymer of Sandwich Tribunal
Jim’s recipe: Popeye’s Spicy Fried Chicken - Zack Brown, worldly grub aficionado, returning for a second helping of judgery
Zack’s recipe: White Castle burgers - Kate Donahue of Food Babbles, who will be joining us for her third annual Munch Madness
Kate’s recipe: Starbucks iced lemon pound cake - Chris Durso of Foodiggity, returning judge and tireless reporter of what’s new and weird in the world of food
Chris’s recipe: McDonald’s Shamrock Shake - Paul Heath, local legend of culinary masochism/exploration
Paul’s recipe: Hooters Fried Pickles - Tony Jenkins, fancy restaurantgoer and humorist
Tony’s recipe: Arby’s Beef ‘n Cheddar - Anthony Kuhns of Scarlet Betch
Anthony’s recipe: Chili’s Skillet Queso - Jason Mallory of humor-website-cum-live-event Scene Missing Magazine with Ben Arnold
Jason’s recipe: Stouffer’s macaroni and cheese - Jenny Mason, accessory designer behind Jenny Sais Quoi and my personal best friend, with her other half Allen Burleson, restaurant operations manager
Jenny and Allen’s recipe: The Chick-fil-A Sandwich - Natalie, expert eater and brilliant Aveda stylist, with Adam, physics teacher and past Munch Madness contributor (the brains behind the pickle wrapped in turkey and American cheese)
Natalie and Adam’s recipe: McDonald’s hot apple pies - Lance Price, singer/songwriter/Southern boy, with Diana Jarvis, ASL interpreter and meal enthusiast (not a fat joke, she just has meal enthusiasm)
Lance’s recipe: PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef - Nicole Smeltzer of The Middlest Sister, dragging her family back for another year of judging
Nicole’s recipe: Olive Garden Breadsticks - Sammy, a.k.a. Instagram’s @fancycookinmofo
Sammy’s recipe: The Taco Bell Crunchwrap - Becky Striepe, vegan blogger/green crafter behind Glue & Glitter
Becky’s recipe: Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte - …and me and John.
My recipe: Girl Scouts of America’s Samoas
John’s recipe: Reese’s peanut butter eggs
