A grilled cheese sandwich competition raised over $1,200 that will be donated to the Salvation Army NMI Chapter to carry out the organization\u2019s feeding programs. <\/p>\n
The \u201cSammich\u201d competition hosted by the Salvation Army NMI Chapter advisory board member Shelly Scott raised $1,253, with expenses deducted. <\/p>\n
Scott said that only $200 was deducted for expenses. This was made possible because of all the donations of sponsors. <\/p>\n
One of the Salvation Army\u2019s means of receiving funds is through the annual grilled cheese competition. Scott introduced the idea two years ago. <\/p>\n
According to Scott, this year\u2019s competition is the third time she\u2019s been organizing the event. <\/p>\n
The competition consisted of teams of voluntary chefs who whipped up unique grilled cheese sandwiches that were tasted by registered participants, who paid a fee to enter the competition as judges. The fee was at $20 per person and it provided participants two drinks and unlimited tomato soup, according to Scott. <\/p>\n
A trained chef from the Hyatt Regency Saipan and from Imperial Pacific International, LLC shared their unique variations on the grilled cheese sandwich. <\/p>\n
A volunteer chef from the Hyatt Regency Saipan, Niwayan Aldan, joined the competition for the first time this year. She heard about the event from her employer. <\/p>\n
According to Aldan, she will certainly join future competitions. <\/p>\n
Other voluntary chefs included a team of sisters, a husband and wife who are both experienced chefs, and a mother-and-daughter team. <\/p>\n
For the blind tasting category, Team Cheeses of Nazareth took first place. The cooks were Kate Fuller and Sam Crawford and their winning sandwich was named Soul Food. <\/p>\n
Second place for the blind tasting category was awarded to Team \u201cThe Trolley\u201d and the chef was Amber Weston. The winning sandwich was called Bacon Hallelujah.<\/p>\n
Third place went to Team Justice. The chefs were Greg and Mel Borja and their winning sandwich was Sour Power. <\/p>\n
In the Purist category, first place was awarded to Team Cheese Heads. The cooks were Matt and Lauren Benson and their winning sandwich was \u201cToo Gouda for You.\u201d<\/p>\n
Second place went to team Niany’s Nibble. The cooks were Leila Staffler and her daughter and their winning sandwich was \u201cGreen Flash.\u201d <\/p>\n
For the Suhweet category, first place went to Team Partini’s Paninis. The cook was Niwayan Aldan. <\/p>\n
Second place was awarded to Team Stache Sisters and the cooks were Laila Boyer and Farah Younis. <\/p>\n
For the Whodathunkit category, first place was awarded to The Trolley, second was awarded to the Cheeses of Nazareth, and third was awarded to the Imperial Pacific Team. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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