Twelve restaurants simmered and seasoned, but only one could take home the golden ladle award. The 2nd annual trophy for the "Judge's Choice" for best soup at Soupstock went to Ody's Restaurant and Chef Will McNamara. Will's "Spice Roasted Acron Squash with Apple Toasted Walnuts" was the winning soup. McNamara talks about the inspiration behind the soup. "Recipes I've carried with me for a while. You piece things together...what works, what doesn't and it just fit the season and the event. That's what I came up with this week." Last year's inaugural event saw Chef Eric Boyar with 639 win the trophy. This year, Boyar sat at the judge's table and helped award the new winner. Boyar says it was well deserved. "To pass off an award like that, especially someone so deserving of it...it was a great soup. Everybody did a great job today and made fantastic soups all around...it was really difficult determining who would be the winner today." There was some dissension among the judge's on the best soup. Woodstock Police Chief Rod Freeman and Deputy Fire Chief Brian Arnold voted in favour of more "hearty" soups. Arnold talks about what he thinks makes a great soup. "Heartiness. I liked the Ham & Lentil, I loved the Yankee Pot Roast soup. I'm a back to the basics kind of guy." The 2nd annual event in support of Domestic Abuse Services Oxford was well attended again this year. (In Photo L-R: Chef Will McNamara holds his "Golden Ladle" award, alongside last year's winner Chef Eric Boyar, and event organizer from DASO Barb Wright)

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