One of the first stories Greenwich Free Press covered in 2014 was the annual Chowdafest in Norwalk. It drew restaurants from Fairfield County and across New England.
With the postponement of the annual New England Chowdafest competition until 2021, up to 20,000 Chowdafest attendees can now experience some of the best chowders, soups and bisque in the safety of their own home by ordering online.
Today, the new Chowda Club by Chowdafest, just announced their online chowder orders are now available on www.Chowda.Club.
This new chowder-of-the-month-club features two quarts each month and is launching with chowder from Our House Bistro in VT and Pike Place Chowder from Washington. Festival goers have voted them best in their respective category for the past five years.
Pike Place Chowder has been voted the best New England clam chowder at Chowdafest while also earning America’s #1 most popular dish in a Yelp survey of over 155 million foodies. Our House Bistro has earned creative chowders accolades in all five years they’ve competed at Chowdafest.
“We found an incredible chef and co-packer to reproduce the actual winning recipes to make these chowders available,” said Jim Keenan founder of both Chowdafest and the Chowda Club. Most restaurants don’t offer online sales of their chowders or aren’t equipped to do so.
One of the benefits of going to Chowdafest was that restaurants came from all over to participate so you had them all in one place and didn’t have to travel all over New England to try them. To make sure all the chowders were the real thing, Keenan said he received permission to use their authentic recipe and them reproduce them.
The next hurdle in creating the club was to find a cost effective way to ensure all these soups would arrive cold in just two days. Keenan said only addresses in New England are available for shipment right now which is okay since “most fans of Chowdafest are from there” but eventually, they hope to be nationwide if the program takes off.
Orders for these chowders are only taken through Sept 18 so they know how much soup to produced since it’s made in handcrafted small batches like you’d find in the restaurants. Each month the process is duplicated featuring two new soups. Keenan said it’s was no coincidence that the club is starting with what he calls “comfort food” season and two incredible restaurants. “We’re hoping orders are strong as this program supports the restaurants participating,” Keenan said in a release.
With the holidays coming up, foodies will look to have these great soups at their dinner table or give them as gifts.
For additional information about this Chowda Club by Chowdafest and to become a member, please visit www.Chowda.Club.
The Chowda Club is sponsored by Cabot Creamery Co-operative, Chica de Gallo, Copp’s Island Oysters, Hood Cream, New England Dairy, Polar Beverages, Samuel Adams, The Farmer’s Cow, Westminster Bakery and Yankee Magazine..