Photo via Fazio’s Sweet Moments Sweet Life
Fazio’s Sweet Moments Sweet Life at State Fair
Fazio’s Sweet Moments Sweet Life after winning the blue ribbon at Wisconsin State Fair
Although the 2024 Wisconsin State Fair has wrapped up another successful season, it’s not too early for food entrepreneurs to start thinking about entering their creations in next year’s blue-ribbon competitions.
Local chocolatier Cindy Karrels, who owns Fazio’s Sweet Moments Sweet Life, (13425 Watertown Plank Road, Elm Grove), time entered a Wisconsin State Fair contest for the first this year. Her 10th anniversary creation, a chocolate called Decade of Decadence, won a blue ribbon in the Champion Eats & Treats Competition.
The Wisconsin State Fair’s Grand Champion Eats & Treats Competition is a professional food competition open to small professional food businesses (less than $1 million in annual sales) in Wisconsin. Judging for the 2024 competition took place August 7.
Best in Show
Karrels’ Decade of Decadence rooftop-shaped confectionary, which won First Place and Best in Show, tastes like a bite of cheesecake; it consists of a layer of praline cookie crunch with a berry marmalade and cheesecake filling, covered in a dark chocolate shell. Decorative Jackson Pollock-like drips and wave decorations add a galaxy effect. The confection is available year-round at Fazio’s.
“We thought it was very appropriate for our 10-year anniversary,” says Karrels, who opened Fazio’s in November 2013. “We wanted to create something that we’ve never done before and was unique.”
Like most culinary masterpieces, the creative process was a lot of trial and error. Yet Karrels did not alter any of her usual chocolate making ingredients or practices for this project. She uses pure Belgian chocolate and couvertures—chocolate containing a higher percentage of cocoa butter than chocolate sold for baking or eating. Working with couvertures involves balancing different crystals that result in a superb shine and snap. Karrels notes the Grand Champion Hall on the Wisconsin Fair grounds is well air-conditioned, so food makers need not worry about summer heat and humidity damaging their creations.
Karrels and her family had always been fans of the Wisconsin State Fair. She had long desired to enter a competition. “My family and I have always enjoyed the foods. One of our must-see things was the Grand Champion Hall because there are so many wonderful, handcrafted items.”
Learning Experience
After signing up for the Wisconsin State Fair’s email contact list, Karrels received the required information to get started. Participants may enter up to enter up to five of their specialties.
“It’s a very interesting learning experience when entering a competition at the Fair,” relates Karrels. “You get the paperwork listing the different categories; we were in the sweets and treats. You must submit your recipes, along with your preparation methods. When you’re a business, you’re categorized in the small business section, so you must have your entry packaged properly with ingredients and net weights listed. It was a learning experience, and very fun and interesting to do.”
Fazio’s was one of three chocolatiers in the category. The State Fair competition allowed her to network with other small business owners and share strategies, tips and marketing advice. The top 12 entries in the Grand Champion Eats & Treats Competition were allowed to offer samples of their product but could not sell items (selling product requires a separate vendor booth), but they could market and enjoy the buzz their business received from the competition exposure.
State Fair Family
“Afterwards, the Wisconsin State Fair personnel and judges told me that I became part of the State Fair Family, and they gave us tips for next year. There’s a good possibility that we’ll participate again. They welcomed us warmly.”
Karrels’ Wisconsin State Fair experience is part of a growing interest in state fair foods nationwide. The new Netflix program, “Blue Ribbon Baking Championship”, formatted akin to “The Great British Baking Show,” features 10 blue ribbon bakers from state fairs across the United States as they compete for $100,000.
At the Wisconsin State Fair, people wait in line to indulge in Sporkies competition foods like Hot Ham & Glazers, or fried delights like Deep-Fried Lemonade Bites or Dirty Chai Cinnamon Roll Lumpia.
Food entrepreneurs interested in entering next year’s Grand Champion Eats & Treats Competition can visit wistatefair.com/competitions/grand-champion-eats-treats for more information. The competition is open to makers of pickles, relishes, preserves, sauces, dairy mixes, fruits and vegetables, fermented products, sweets, treats, beverages, appetizers and snack foods.
“It’s a great foodie experience at the Fair. So many people preview foods online and decide where to go and what to try,” says Karrels. “To win a competition like this is a dream come true; it’s been on my bucket list for many years. It’s an honor for our whole team here at Fazio’s.”
For more information, visit fazioschocolate.com. For more information about Wisconsin State Fair competitions, visit wistatefair.com/competitions/competitive-exhibits.
