SYP prepares for 5th Annual SOUPer Bowl

January 31, 2012

By ANGIE CARNATHAN
sdnlife@bellsouth.net

A The Starkville Young Professionals are getting ready for a big competition this weekend, but it won’t be taking place on a football field.
The 5th Annual Starkville Young Professionals SOUPer Bowl will be held Saturday, Feb. 4, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the State Theater. The event benefits the United Way of North Central Mississippi. Tickets are $15 in advance or $25 at the door.
Children 12 and under are $5 and children under three are free. Tickets are available now for purchase at the Greater Starkville Development Partnership office or at R. Tabb & Co. on Main Street.
According to SYP President Robyn Cain, the theme for this year’s SOUPer Bowl is “You decide who’s hot.” 1st, 2nd and 3rd place are chosen by attendees, who each get a ballot and vote on their three favorites. Another award, Best in Show, is given to the booth with the best presentation.
“The SYP SOUPer Bowl is a great way for restaurants and Starkville Young Professionals to give back to the community,” Cain said. “In its 5th year, SOUPer Bowl is a community event that the young and old look forward to each year.”
Arma de la Cruz, director of marketing for the Eat With Us group, said the SOUPer Bowl inspires the chefs at each of its restaurants to come up with new soup recipes that sometimes end up on their menus.
“The Eat With Us Group has always been very involved in the Starkville community and tries to participate in the festivals and events Starkville offers,” de la Cruz said. “These type of events such as the SOUPer Bowl allows our chefs and managers to step out of the restaurant and interact with our customers in a different setting while at the same time raising money for a good cause. Harveys, Central Station Grill, Sweet Peppers Deli and Bulldog Deli all offer soups on their menus. The SOUPer Bowl allows us to feature some of our best sellers but also our chefs get a chance to experiment in the kitchen and offer a soup at the event that may become a ‘Chef Special’ in the restaurant if it is well received.”
Restaurant Tyler and Bin 612 chef Ty Thames said he loves participating in SOUPer Bowl each year.
“It’s a well put together event, it’s fun and it’s for a great cause,” Thames said. “All of our restaurants are participating. It’s really fun to have a little friendly competition among each of our restaurants. We don’t reveal our ingredients until the day of the competition so that none of us who work together can copy each other.”
Martin Crawford of Old Venice said the restaurant looks forward to competing in the community event.
“Being members of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, we like to stay as active in the community as possible,” Crawford said. “Knowing that it’s going for such a great cause makes it even better. Old Venice is proud to participate in an event that is both fun and helps out our community.”
For more information, contact Robyn Cain at RCain@Starkville.org.