FoodWorks reveals the winners of its first Annual Global Street Food Competition, with peanuts shining as the key ingredient

From Peanut Butta Pizza to a Spicy Orange Marmalade PB&J Donut, FoodWorks culinary partners came up with a variety of innovative, peanut-centric dishes for the restaurant incubator’s first Annual Global Street Food Competition. FoodWorks, which is within the foodservice provider Compass Group, launched the first phase of the competition in March. The initial phase of the competition ran through May 31, and the company recently announced the results, which feature a handful of creative plant-centric dishes. Here’s a look at what dishes rounded out the top four.  

This recipe features a homemade flatbread as a base, which is then topped with marinated chicken, Thai peanut sauce, mozzarella cheese, carrots and onions. Then the flatbread is drizzled with siracha and garnished with fresh cilantro. Finally, it’s topped with toasted crushed peanuts.

This recipe by BLT Kitchens in Phoenix, Arizona, earned the concept the fourth-place prize of $500. BLT Kitchens is a commercial kitchen for rent, featuring two cooking lines, four walk-in fridges and freezers and over 20 prep tables. The company provides a secure and clean work environment for a variety of applications, such as meal prep, food trucks and catering.

This recipe, which earned third place, has a base of a chocolate donut, with spicy orange marmalade. The peanuts don’t get lost in this recipe, however, as it’s topped with a combination of roasted and salted peanuts, and Virginia peanuts. Then, it’s sprinkled with brown sugar to add some sweetness and candied orange to spotlight the citrus flavor. This dessert was created by pastry Chef Tarran Hatton from BlissBomb, earning her $500 as the cash prize.

BlissBomb is an LGBTQ+ owned bakery in New York that specializes in mini donuts. Chef Tarran Hatton said that she was aiming for both nostalgia and novelty when creating this dessert.

“Aiming to represent the diverse textures and flavors a peanut can encapsulate, I created a caramelized peanut butter paired with bright orange marmalade amped up with chile peppers, tied together with chocolate, and topped with crunchy roasted Virginia peanuts and sea salt for an experience that is both novel and nostalgic,” she said.

The second-place winning dish is the Spring Roll Bowl by plant-based food truck concept Rollin’ Bowls in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. The bowl is built on a base of white rice, with plant-based peanut butter Chik’n as the protein. The bowl also comes topped with a cold chopped veggie medley. The bowl is then drizzled with creamy peanut sauce and siracha for an added kick. Then it’s finished with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts and fresh lime. This recipe earned second place, with a prize of $1,500.

This recipe was created by Chef Monica Meier at Rollin’ Bowls, which is the first plant-based food trunk in northern Kentucky. Meier noted that the recipe has quickly become a fan favorite.

“[I’m] grateful for FoodWorks Global Street Food Competition in pushing me out of my comfort zone to create a new recipe quickly becoming a fan favorite,” she said. “Incorporating peanuts added so much flavor, texture, energy, and nutrients to dishes while being easily adaptable.”

Peanut tofu is the star of the show with this dish, with a rich peanut curry sauce dressing the pizza. The flatbread is drizzled with spicy chili oil and then finished with a peanut drizzle, with chopped peanuts and fresh herbs as the garnish. The Peanut Butta Pizza is then served with a fresh lime wedge and a sprinkle of dry batter flakes, intended to take the place of fresh parmesan, adding a crunch. This dish won the first-place prize of $2,500 and entry into running for the grand champion prize, two passes to the Culinary Institute of America’s Menus of Change Summit.

This dish was created by Chef Heather Marie Klein at Root to Rise, a plant-based concept in Minneapolis. The mission behind the concept is to change the perception around plant-forward fare by serving up plant-centric, sustainable dishes.

Klein noted that the contest was a great experience for her, and it even yielded some unexpected takeaways.

“Such a fun contest, not only did this contest push me to use peanuts in ways I had never thought of before, it has also been very helpful in showing me more precise ways to cost out my dishes effectively,” she said, in a statement.