The State Fair of Texas has unveiled the finalists for the 21st Annual Big Tex Choice Awards, presented by Karbach Brewing Company, introducing a new twist for 2025 with the addition of a dedicated beverage category.
The Big Tex Choice Awards is the Fair’s signature culinary competition, where concessionaires debut original creations. This year, a new “Sippers” category joins the traditional “Savory” and “Sweet” divisions, expanding the number of finalists from the longstanding 10 to 15. Each category now features five finalists, with an additional award for “Most Creative.”
The new format provides more defined groupings than in previous years, when sweet and savory entries were not evenly represented. Finalists were selected from 76 submissions, narrowed to 30 semi-finalists, and judged on uniqueness, creativity, presentation, and taste. Winners will be announced Thursday, August 21.
All semifinalist dishes—regardless of final placement—will be available for purchase during the Fair, which runs September 26–October 19.
Savory Finalists
Sweet Finalists
- Candy Lemon Sour Face – Chef Heather J Perkins: Candy-coated lemon with a sweet-and-sour punch.
- Chill & Thrill Delight – Tony & Terry Bednar: Colombian-style fruit cup with mango, pineapple, watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe, and strawberries in watermelon-lime juice, topped with mango sorbet.
- Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake – Stephen El Gidi: Cup layered with Belgian chocolate, pistachio spread, kataifi, tahini, and cheesecake chunks, finished with chocolate and pistachio cream.
- Rousso’s Dubai Chocolate Funnel Cake Fries – Isaac & Joey Rousso: Funnel cake strips topped with chocolate, pistachio cream, and knafeh pastry.
- Tex’s Toast á la Mode – Michelle & Jayse Edwards: French toast with vanilla ice cream, caramel, maple syrup, and cinnamon cereal crunch.
Sipper Finalists
- Coconut Quadruple – Binh Tran & My Vo: Fresh coconut with coconut slushy, soft-serve coconut ice cream, and coconut flakes.
- Cookie Chaos Milkshake – Brad Weiss: Cookie butter shake with assorted cookie chunks, cookie dough, and Biscoff drizzle.
- Hot Honeycomb Lemonade Shake Up – Tom Grace: Lemonade with honey, jalapeños, chamoy, and Tajin rim, topped with honeycomb skewer; optional alcohol shot.
- Nevins Dirty Red Bull Tex-arita – Josey Nevins Mayes & Tami Jo Nevins Mayes: Sweet cream liquor cocktail with Pop Rocks and layered Red Bull margaritas.
- Poppin’ Boba Rita – Justin Martinez: Frozen lime margarita with wine-infused boba pearls; “dirty” option with cold foam, coconut syrup, and Tajin rim.
The 15 finalists will compete for four titles on August 21 at 2 p.m. The Big Tex Choice Awards event is closed to the public, but results and behind-the-scenes coverage will be shared on the State Fair of Texas Instagram and Facebook pages.
