Foodies hunger for first-ever Sliderfest

Pelham’s first-ever Sliderfest was a foodie’s delight.

Picking a winning slider wasn’t easy, with choices such as Churchhill Natural Meats’ chipotle cheddar bison slider with doublesmoked wild boar bacon and a rosette of garlic aioli; and Iggy’s Pub and Grub’s beef brisket slider with horseradish cream, caramelized onions topped with a dill pickle, served on a pretzel bun.

There was also Pub on the Hill’s red wine braised pork belly slider topped with Brie and a sweet red pepper relish; Zest Kitchen’s Cumbrae Farms hog burger with Fenwick peach and corn relish, Kozlicks mustard mayo and Rumar Farms lettuce; and Lookout Point Country Club’s fennel maple smoked barbecue pork belly with special cider apple slaw.

The event put on by Fonthill Lions Club at Gordon L. Klager Park sold out quickly, said Lions Club member Cathy BerkhoutBosse.

“The demand was unbelievable. We exceeded our ticket sales. We had hoped for 300 people, but we ended up selling 350 tickets,” she said Saturday as people started to stream through the gates at the club on Hurricane Road.

With the park licensed as a private event for up to 400 people, she said the Lions couldn’t sell any more Sliderfest tickets. She said next year the club will look to license it for more than 400 people.

The $30 tickets allowed attendees to try a slider from the five restaurants, and have fries and corn on the cob courtesy of the Lions Club, plus a non-alcoholic drink. It also included an entry into a raffle for a Traeger smoker/barbecue. Funds raised from the event will be used to support the club and its services.

Two blues bands, The Backdoor Two-Fives and The Rhythm Hounds, played throughout the afternoon and into the evening as people enjoyed their sliders on picnic tables spread throughout the park. At the back of the park, Niagara FPV Squad put on a drone demonstration. The club holds races in the back field.

Berkhout-Bosse said local businesses stepped up and helped the event, put together in just 10 weeks, donating 40 prizes for the raffle table.

She said the Lions wanted to make Sliderfest a very local experience and put out a call across Pelham for chefs and restaurants to take part.

“These five came forward very quickly and decided they wanted to be part of the event.”

Also on board was Fonthill’s Kame & Kettle Beer Works.

PenFinancial Credit Union, new to the community, stepped up as the main sponsor, and Enviro-Niagara Hearth & Barbeque gave the Traeger smoker/barbecue for the raffle. A number of other business from across the community stepped up to sponsor the event.

While the chefs served up their sliders, Berkhout-Bosse said people voted for the best tasting one inside the clubhouse.

Churchhill Meats walked away the winner.