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Vendors arrived from Louisiana, Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan – some were
accompanied by family members, some by friends
and some had both in tow. At the Screentrade Popcorn
Challenge our preference is to employ “working”
vendors, and so they popped, served and greeted
the public, before also being turned into taste-testers
of the very products they sell and distribute.
In total, there were 25 different popcorns to taste
within the following categories:
• UNADORNED
• POPPED IN DIFFERENT OILS
• WITH BUTTER TOPPINGS
• WITH DRY TOPPINGS
• WITH CARAMEL COATINGS
That’s a lot of corn, whether for popping or eating.
Each category was located at a fixed station with
the exception of the final one – the caramel corn being
a mobile station, which instead sought-out the
taste-testers.
Although by no means a scientific experiment,
there was as much consistency in the preparation
of the popcorn for each event as possible, and our
taste-testers seemed to readily know their favorite
flavors upon tasting them.
We thank and truly appreciate all participants, including
a very special thanks to Bob Goodrich, of
Goodrich Quality Theaters, Inc., for his presence, as
well as that of his staff from the Grand Haven 9 for all
their hard work. We also thank Flanagan’s Irish Pub,
for hosting the event, its wonderful products and energy
and enthusiasm in making this among the best
International Popcorn Challenges ever; and finally to
Martin Olesen of PCI for supplying popcorn bags.
POPCORN
1st place Preferred Popcorn
2nd place Liven Mushroom
3rd place NATAIS Mushroom/Pop ‘n’ Roll
4th place O rville Redenbacher
POPCORN OILS
1st place Lou Ana – Canola
2d place Poppin’ Olive
3d place Odell’s Classic
4th place Lou Ana – Coconut
BUTTER TOPPINGS
1st place Lou Ana - More Gold Plus
2nd place Odell’s Butterfat
3rd place Odell’s Super-Kist II
DRY TOPPINGS
1st place CornAgain – Chilli Lime
2nd place Tied 2nd Kernel Season’s White Cheddar/
CornAgain’s Sweet ‘n’ Salty
3rd place MacCorn’s Sweet Popcorn
4th place Tied 4th Kernel Season’s Kettle Korn
Parmesan & Garlic
CARAMEL CORN
1st place Valley Popcorn Caramel Corn
2nd place Moore Theatre’s Caramel Corn
3rd place MacCorn’s Toffee Corn