The finalists have now been revealed following a three-week dining competition in January that saw eateries across Wrexham serve-up North American influenced dishes with the best local Welsh produce.
During the competition, each venue had two mystery diner visits which scored them each based on presentation, taste and overall knowledge and promotion of the dish - with the public also encouraged to visit some new venues and upload their personal results afterwards.
Coming out on top of the mystery diners results were two local favourites - the Croes Howell in Llay and also city centre favourite, To^st on Charles Street.
The Croes Howell served-up a firm favourite Tex Mex sharing platter, which went down well with both the judges and the public. The platter featured Welsh witch rum BBQ Glazed pork ribs, beef short rib, freshly baked corn bread and sweet potato Southern-spiced wedges - along with complimentary cowboy hats for that perfect selfie!
Alongside the Croes Howell dish, To^st Cafe & Deli on Charles St rose to the top of the leaderboard with their "Elvis" grilled cheese sandwich (based on the one Elvis actually used to eat himself!). The Sourdough bread was made just over the road at Ial restaurant on Chester Rd and featured Shirgar Welsh butter, Dragon Creameries Welsh cheese along with Crwst, Welsh honey butter, bacon and Welsh Lady blueberry preserve.
Claire Wright from To^st was thrilled to reach the final and added; "We loved taking part in this competition and it really showcased the great eateries we now have in the Wrexham area. We can’t believe that we came in the top two and were really happy that our customers and the mystery diners enjoyed the Elvis grilled cheese sandwich that we created using quality Welsh ingredients!"
The third finalist was decided based on the average score from the public diner votes and the promotion over their own social media. Taking this spot was the popular Bank Restaurant & Wine Bar on the High St, who had great feedback throughout the competition about their dish, the "McElhenney & Cheese" - a classic mac 'n' cheese made with truffle and Welsh rarebit in honour of Club co-Chairman, Rob.
The three finalists will now go forward to a cook-off next Monday, 10th February - where an invited audience of local food bloggers and tourism ambassadors for Wrexham will help judge the winning dish for 2025.
As part of the event at Iâl Restaurant (part of Coleg Cambria), catering & hospitality learners will also have the chance to help supervise each of the finalists and serve-up the dishes as part of their usual programme of student takeover days designed to help their event experience whilst making new connections with local employers.
The winning dish will be decided by head judges including previous winner, Richard Sommer who now runs Reggie's on Chester St in town, Jonathan Greatorex (Hand at Llanarmon), Leanne Hopwood (@goodgourmetguide) and Naomi Spaven (@littlewelshfoodie) - head baker at Coleg Cambria.
Tune in this time next week to find out who takes home the trophy and who's dish will represent Wrexham as part of the 2025 Year of Croeso at events later in the year!
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