A Denver-based food truck won the coveted Golden Plate award at the annual Governor's Plate competition at the Colorado State Fair on Aug. 27, while the competition's reigning champion from Pueblo took home the People's Choice award.
Pueblo food trucks have now won the People's Choice award at the fair three years in a row, after Papa Mario's grilled cheese food truck won the award in 2022 and 2023.
Proto Taste's concept won the Governor's Plate award, while Pueblo's Stoke Pizza, the 2023 Golden Plate winner, won the People's Choice award.
Proto Taste, a company with several food truck concepts that also rents trailers to people looking to start their own food trucks, competed with a finely sliced grilled steak drizzled with Palisade peach steak sauce and topped with grilled onions, grilled peaches, and melted brie cheese, all inside a hoagie roll from Colorado's own City Bakery.
"(What stuck out to me was) really the bold flavors as well as the way the Colorado ingredients were highlighted, everything from the Colorado beef, to onions, to Pueblo chile, (it was) really exciting to see them all come together," said Gov. Jared Polis after the competition.
Pueblo's Stoke Pizza won the popularly voted "People's Choice Award" with a wood-fired loaded baked potato pizza featuring San Luis Valley potatoes.
Food Truck winners react to their victories
Denver-based Proto Taste/Guilty Pleasures Grub Chef Lex Mendez told the Chieftain that he felt grateful and proud to win the Governor's Plate. "It feels amazing. We all worked so hard. I couldn't have done it without the team ... it's such an honor, and a beautiful state," he said.
Guilty Pleasures Grub is a sub-concept of Proto Taste, Mendez said.
"We also rent out our truck to other chefs who maybe can't afford a food truck, or just need one for their restaurant — we think everyone should have a chance at cooking, and getting product out," he said.
Mendez said Proto Taste's normal truck sells Philly cheesesteaks, hot dogs and French fries, doing "one thing very well." For their Governor's Plate entry, every ingredient, including the vegetables, was sourced from Colorado, according to Mendez.
Meanwhile, Stoke Pizza's husband and wife team Bre and Wes Latka expressed pride in bringing home the People's Choice award with their wood-fired pizza.
"It feels really good because Denver is known for a lot of things, the big city is 'Where it's at,'" said Bre Latka. "And being able to (show) what Pueblo is all about: it's local, it's small town, it's homemade."
Latka said that Stoke Pizza chose to go with a loaded baked potato concept because they "felt as if everyone was going to represent Peaches because, well, Palisade peaches are amazing."
"And the San Luis Valley potato is kind of forgotten," she said. "So we really wanted to (represent the potato) on our pizza this year."
Polis talks local agriculture, calls Pueblo 'a culinary capitol' for the region
During an interview during the event, Polis stated that when paring down the many entries, selectors looked for chefs and food trucks highlighting grown-in-Colorado food.
"Hopefully not just one menu item, but we want most of the menu to be sourced in Colorado — from Colorado farmers and ranchers — peaches, dairy, beef, you name it," Polis said.
Competing food trucks were required to be registered members of Colorado Proud , which was developed by the Colorado Department of Agriculture in 1999 as a free program designed to help consumers, restaurants, and retailers identify and purchase Colorado food and agricultural products.
"People are really excited about Colorado Proud, because it means that consumers, all of us know, 'This was grown in Colorado.' So we know it is fresher, shorter distance to market, supporting our neighbors, and Coloradans are really excited about seeing that in our local grocery stores, in their farmers markets, and here at the Governor's Plate in Pueblo."
The governor noted that with four of seven of the food trucks based in Pueblo, Pueblo is "establishing itself as a culinary capital, not just of Colorado, but in the region."
"Of course, the long agriculture heritage of Pueblo and the San Luis Valley is very much on display, not only here at the Governor's Plate, but across the state fair and Colorado," he said.
Other entries that competed in the Governor's Plate
Five other entries, three from Pueblo and two from elsewhere, competed in this year's Governor's Plate.
Mother Smothers , a Pueblo food truck that specializes in "smothering all of Pueblo's favorites," including sloppers, tacos, fries, burgers, and sandwiches, served San Luis Valley mashed potatoes topped with award-winning green chile.
SmithGrubs food truck and catering is another Pueblo truck that serves a variety of dishes from barbecue to tacos, steak, and even General Tsao's Chicken and egg rolls, according to its website. SmithGrubs competed with a cinnamon roll with Palisade peaches.
Wings on Wheels , a Pueblo food truck serving wings, nachos, smash burgers, mac and cheese, sloppers, and green chile fries, served a burger slider with Palisade peach compote. This popular food truck was named the best in the Steel City by Chieftain readers in a poll earlier this year.
Lady In the Wild , of Wheat Ridge, offers a rotating seasonal menu "featuring seasonal ingredients used at their peak and cooked to highlight their unique flavors," according to the food truck's website. For the competition, Lady In the Wild put forth a Moroccan-spiced lamb meatball dish with pickled onions, Green Goddess hummus, Palisade peach jam, and chimichurri.
MC 2 Ice Cream Truck , based in Arvada, is best known for winning the Guinness World Record for most flavors displayed at one time, with 985. For the Governor's Plate, they made a gluten-free Palisade peach and whiskey-pecan ice cream flavored with Stranahan's Whiskey.
More images of the Governor's Plate: Pueblo food trucks step up to the plate to compete at Colorado State Fair
Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formally known as Twitter, @jayreutter1. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com .
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: 2024 Governor's Plate: Proto Taste wins Golden Plate, Stoke Pizza wins People's Choice
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