Earning a spot as a Sporkies finalist at the Wisconsin State Fair offers more than bragging rights.
According to the State Fair veterans at Saz’s BBQ, being named as a finalist is beneficial for name recognition and leads to a major boost in sales during the fair. The vendor would know. It has had four finalists in the past five years, including this year’s Sweet Lemon Berry Cheese Curds finalist.
“As long as you’re a finalist, you probably will do around 6-10,000 orders throughout the 11 days,” said Joe Seeby, Festival Director at Saz’s.
Between tender orders and sampler combos, Saz’s was slinging the Sporkie from its booth on opening day as often as those bestsellers. Even at the slowest periods, it was still serving about a Sporkie a minute.
To keep up with the demand, an entire station is dedicated to the savory-sweet treat.
Saz’s tries to keep production simple enough for its young staff to handle. Every member of the assembly line keeps orders churning out like a well-oiled machine. High schoolers working the line handle fryer baskets with the comfort of seasoned chefs, frying five pounds of curds at a time while another cook tosses a separate batch of the crispy morsels in cinnamon sugar. A KitchenAid mixer runs nonstop to make the whipped lemon cream cheese sauce for dipping.
The vendor’s creation didn’t earn a top three finish this year, losing to Birria Flamin’ Bombs from Fiesta Grill & Cantina, WürstBar’s Cream City Cone and Al Pastor Pizza from Charlie’s Pizza.
But since 2023, Saz’s has been on the Sporkies podium twice and been voted a fairgoer fave three times.
In 2024, Saz’s BBQ’s Deep-Fried lemonade bites took first place. The bites were Hawaiian rolls stuffed with lemon curd filling, dipped in French toast batter, deep fried and rolled in “lemonade fairy dust,” a mix of lemonade powder and sugar.
Saz’s sold 28,000 lemonade bites in 11 days, which Seeby said is the most Sporkies a vendor has ever sold in State Fair history.
“Almost anytime someone was ordering, you had a Sporkie going out the window,” Seeby said of the 2024 sales.
While he said the boost in sales is incredible, he added that winning can be a logistical nightmare. The Sporkies are usually judged on the Tuesday before the fair opens, giving the winners just two days to prepare for their sales to potentially triple.
“Maybe the fair can change the Sporkie judging to Monday,” Seeby said. “It being on Tuesday and finding out you win, does create some challenges.”
In 2024, Saz’s partner Sysco helped the barbecue joint source every Hawaiian roll it could find in the state, and fellow vendors Grebe’s and Ultimate Confections sent staff to help mix lemon curd.
Having so many finalists over the past five years isn’t an accident. Saz’s puts a lot of work into its Sporkies creations.
Seeby keeps a backlog of six to seven years’ worth of Sporkies ideas from Saz’s customers, friends and staff. From that list, the development team selects 20 ideas to play around with. The 10 best of those are then sent to a panel of judges who narrow down the ideas in a Chopped-style competition.
Saz’s chefs and managers rate the dishes on a variety of factors including concept, flavor and ease of preparation.
“You kind of want an idea that is a little bit out there but doesn’t scare people away,” Seeby said.
The lemon berry cheese curds were one of many sweet cheese curd concepts that Saz’s played around with. One that didn’t make the cut were Elvis-inspired curds with bacon and peanut butter. Lemon berry edged out the competition because it’s a light and fresh enough flavor to eat in the summer heat.
The cheese curds are available at Saz’s BBQ, located on Badger Avenue and Second Street, during the fair. When the fair ends, the curds will be at Saz’s State House, 5539 W. State St., for a limited time.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sporkies recognition helps boost business at vendors like Saz’s
Reporting by Joey Schamber, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Joey Schamber, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
