Cleveland, Rebecca Skoch has decided, is a doughnut kind of town. The former resident of Sagamore Hills staged her first Donut Fest Cleveland on Sunday, drawing 1,000 people who sold out the event in 3 1/2 hours.
“Since this was the first one in Cleveland, I thought it would take at least a month to get the word around,” said Skoch. “This one sold out faster than the shows I did in New York and Chicago.”
She said she’s determined to have another show here next year.
Twelve shops and restaurants hauled their fried and frosted cakes down to Red Space on Superior Avenue to face voting from the public and from a jury doing a blind tasting including Courtney Bonning, a local baker and past winner of Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars”; Lisa Sands, a writer for Edible Cleveland magazine; Sgt. Tim Maffo of the Cleveland Police Department’s bomb squad, and this reporter.
Peace, Love and Little Donuts of West Park took the top judges prize with its Raspberry Coffee Cake doughnut; Holey Toledough took second with a White Chocolate, Jam and Macadamia nut, and Brew Nuts took third with Salty Malty, made with beer.
The public gave Jack Frost’s glazed the top slot; the second place to Brew Nuts Salty Malty and third to the glazed from George’s.
Judging was a real sugar shot.
“I’m starting to shake,” Bonning said after sampling the ninth entry.
“I’ll chase criminals all day, but I don’t know if I can do this again,” said Maffo. Nobody, however, said they wouldn’t do it again.
Out in the public space, the crowd at the music, drank artisan coffee brands and Hartzler’s milk of Wooster, and took photos with a giant donut.
One dollar of each ticket – priced at either $45 or $30 – will be donated to the Cleveland Food Bank, said Skoch, along with a few hundred other dollars raised in take-out doughnut sales. Unsold sweets were delivered to a local shelter.
In addition to a return of Donut Fest, Skoch is branching out. She has a poutine contest running in Chicago and hopes to announce a Nacho Fest there in May.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
