SANTA CRUZ — The 45th annual Clam Chowder Cook-Off began Saturday morning as over 50 amateur teams set up their booths along the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The teams competed for best amateur chowder, as well as awards for People’s Choice, Most Tasted and Most Original Booth.
The sun finally came out for the first day of the contest after a rainy and overcast week. Hundreds of people walked up and down the length of the boardwalk, waiting in line to ride rollercoasters and watching teams fry bacon and stir huge pots of soup. Over the boardwalk’s loudspeakers, the typical pop song playlist was interspersed with songs pronouncing a love of clam chowder. The cook-off teams, which ranged in size from two people to upwards of 20, often wore matching costumes related to their booths’ quirky themes.
The teams began cooking at 11 a.m. Saturday. They had two hours to craft the perfect chowder to impress the judges and the many people who would visit their booths. Contestants were split into two categories, depending on the type of chowder they made. Many teams specialize in Boston-style chowder, which has a creamy base. Others cooked Manhattan chowder, which has a brothy tomato base.
Contestants flock from across the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas to Santa Cruz for the competition. Some teams are well-seasoned, with decades of experience, others have never cooked clam chowder before, but all of them arrive with a themed booth, plenty of clams and an optimistic outlook.
For some teams, the cook-off is a yearly reunion. That’s certainly for the case for the group of childhood friends that makes up the team Invasion of the Clam Snatchers. Their team, which includes members Julian SkyeOlson and Phoenix Rumbaugh started out around 15 years ago, when the group was just kids, with the title Santa Cruz Kids Clam Chowder. Now, even though some members of the team live as far away as the East Coast, they still come back together every year to cook batches of both Manhattan and Boston-style chowder. This year, one team member brought his 2-year-old daughter.
“We’ve got a second generation,” said SkyeOlson, who travelled from Los Angeles to take part in the contest this year.
The DragonMama team, consisting of mother Michele Hartmangruber and daughter Angela Pappachan, has competed since 2007. The pair, who travel to Santa Cruz from Fremont, have become a fixture of the competition, and are well known by their fellow repeat competitors. They have several first place wins under their belt, but what keeps them coming back is the community.
“It’s nice to share what we think is really good eating, and it’s really nice to see that other people appreciate it too,” Pappachan said.
The “Mad About Chowder” team, with a theme inspired by celebrity chef Guy Fieri, was led by Leila Golder and head chef Madi Willson. (Caroline Hemphill — Santa Cruz Sentinel)
A family operation, the “Rosie’s Riveting Chowder” team has used the same family recipe since they began competing in 2006. (Caroline Hemphill — Santa Cruz Sentinel)
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The “Mad About Chowder” team, with a theme inspired by celebrity chef Guy Fieri, was led by Leila Golder and head chef Madi Willson. (Caroline Hemphill — Santa Cruz Sentinel)
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Rosie’s Riveting Chowder, another longtime competitor, began entering the competition in 2006. The team is all family, said member Amy Munselle. They have used Munselle’s grandmother’s recipe since they began. The team is made up of Munselle’s mother, Adrianne Brown, as well as four of Brown’s siblings and other family members. The group’s Rosie the Riveter theme was inspired by Munselle’s grandmother Rosie, who was a welder for Boeing during World War II. The booth featured a picture of Rosie in the classic Rosie the Riveter pose.
“She was a real Rosie the Riveter,” Brown said.
There were also plenty of relative newcomers to the competition, including team Mad About Chowder. Team member Leila Golder entered head chef Madi Willson into the contest as a prank in 2025. To the team’s surprise, they won fourth place at their first competition, and returned this year with a goal to do even better. The group was dressed in button-up shirts printed with flames, and Willson wore a spiky blond wig. The theme was an homage to celebrity chef Guy Fieri, who Willson said inspired the group with his promotion of small businesses.
“I’d never made clam chowder in my life. I started recipe developing, testing tons of different recipes,” Willson said. “We got fourth place last year, so we’re here to redeem ourselves to try to get on the podium.”
Friends Brian Tran and Ryan Waterloo, who make up the team Krusty Klam — inspired by “SpongeBob SquarePants” — are back for a third year. Though the two friends had never made clam chowder before entering their first competition, they won third place in 2025. The San Jose-based duo enjoys traveling to Santa Cruz each year, bringing along friends and family. For Tran, who attended UC Santa Cruz, it feels like coming back home. Waterloo and Tran also enjoy arts and crafts, which is evident when looking at the hand-crafted Krusty Klam sign and Tran’s handmade SpongeBob.
“It’s always fun coming out here,” Waterloo said.
Brian Tran and Ryan Waterloo competed in the Clam Chowder Cook-Off for the first time in 2024, earning third place in 2025. They’re back once again with a “SpongeBob SquarePants”-themed booth. (Caroline Hemphill — Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Anne Smith of the Millie’s Best Boston team won second place last year. This year was her fourth time entering the competition, along with a team of her neighbors from the Rolling Woods neighborhood. Smith is competitive, which is what keeps her coming back, she said. After placing second last year, she returned to the 2026 competition with a laser focus on the top prize.
“I’m very competitive and I love to cook, so it’s a good combination,” Smith said. “I want to win.”
The Bloody Brilliant Chowder stand had a British theme, featuring cardboard cutouts of British icons including chef Gordon Ramsay and King Charles III. (Caroline Hemphill — Santa Cruz Sentinel)
One of the flashiest booths on the boardwalk belonged to Bloody Brilliant Chowder. The United Kingdom-themed tents, covered in Union Jacks, were inspired by head chef Ian Fiddis’ Scottish heritage. The booth was complete with cardboard cutouts of British icons including chef Gordon Ramsay, Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III and the judges of The Great British Baking Show. The team, who met as graduate students at UCSC, are now scattered across different cities, but for nine years, they have returned to Santa Cruz to compete together.
The Clam Chowder Cook-Off is the nation’s largest and longest running clam chowder cook-off, said Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Director Tony Elliot. Since its inception, the proceeds from tasting kits and merchandise has gone to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. The event is the biggest fundraiser for the department every year, and the funds go toward the park system and youth and senior programs. Over its 45 years, the competition has raised around $2.5 million for the city, and over $142,000 in 2025. The proceeds have been increasing over the past couple of years, and Elliot hopes to see that trend continue in 2026.
This year, the competition coincided with the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. Elliot said the two events had more in common than one might expect.
“All these teams are trying to charm and dazzle our judges today with culinary triple axles and gastrointestinal 1080s,” Elliot said, “so it’ll be a really fun day for everybody.”
Sunday, another competition will take place, this time between professionals. Sales tents will open at 10 a.m., cooking will start at 11 a.m. and tasting will begin at 1 p.m.
IF YOU GO
What: Clam Chowder Cook-Off professional competition.
When: Sunday. Cooking at 11 a.m., tasting at 1 p.m.
Where: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
Dining and Cooking