Winners Named in 2025 Big Tex Choice Awards

The State Fair of Texas has crowned its top foods of the year as the 21st Annual Big Tex Choice Awards, presented by Karbach Brewing Company, wrapped up in Dallas, Texas. After sampling 15 inventive entries, judges selected winners across four categories.

Best Taste - Savory

Taking home Best Taste – Savory: Crab & Mozzarella Arancini by Stefan T. Nedwetzky. The dish features Maryland Blue Crab, rice, mozzarella, and herbs, fried to a golden crisp and served with marinara.

Best Taste - Sweet

Best Taste – Sweet: Tony and Terry Bednar won with the Chill & Thrill Delight, a Texas-sized cup of fresh fruit soaked in watermelon juice and lime, topped with shaved mango sorbet.

Best Taste - Sipper

Best Taste – Sipper: Brad Weiss won it for his Cookie Chaos Milkshake, a cookie butter shake blended with Oreo® and snickerdoodle chunks, finished with whipped cream, edible cookie dough, and a Biscoff® cookie rim.

READ MORE: See Pics and Descriptions of all the Finalists!

2025 Most Creative

Most Creative: Won by Kendall Williams with the Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders. The twist on a slider swaps bread for panko-crusted deviled egg halves, holding together a Wagyu patty, cheddar, and bacon.

The Runners-Up

While these dishes took top honors, competition was stiff. Other finalists included Deep Fried Deli Tacos, Hans Brisket & Brew Stuffed Pretzels, Vietnamese Crunch Dog, Candy Lemon Sour Face, Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake, Rousso’s Dubai Chocolate Funnel Cake Fries, Tex’s Toast á la Mode, Coconut Quadruple, Hot Honeycomb Lemonade Shake Up, Nevins Dirty Red Bull® Tex-arita, and the Poppin’ Boba Rita.

The judging panel featured Cookie Society founders Jeff and Marissa Allen, content creator Keandre Hopkins, Karbach Brewing Company GM Chris Meyer, and author and creator Alex Snodgrass.

The 2025 State Fair of Texas runs from September 26 through October 19 in Fair Park. Visit BigTex.com for more information

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