It’ll all come together this

Sunday.

Between the buns:• GrillerGallery

• TheContenders

• BurgerstoBenefit

• TheJudges

Jimmy Buffet sang about it in his song, “Cheese-burger in Paradise.” People have been eating them the world over.

And now The Second Annual MV Guam Burgerfest is here! 

Burger aficionados on a quest to find the best burg-er on Guam can take their palate on an adventure by attending this coveted event Sunday, where 14 contestants will put their grilling skills to the test.

As competitors sizzle into action during the heat of the grilling battle, one thing is certain— all will try to capture a year’s worth of bragging rights by creating the greatest grub in the land, the Pacific’s most pal-atable patty—and what better place to have than where America’s day begins.

If you didn’t already know, May is National Ham-burger Month. Hopefully next year we can appeal to the governor to follow suit with the U.S. Main-land by signing a proclamation to declare spring’s final month paying homage to the iconic American sandwich. It’s also a great way to support the su-perb burger joints, restaurants and grill specialists throughout the island.

Who in America declared May to be Hamburger Month? It isn’t clear and neither is the origin of the

hamburger. History’s always been questionable. So while that’s left for debatable purposes, pass the ketchup please.

What is it about the burger that seduces us into sub-mission of gluttony?

 Is it the succulence of its patty? The special sauce? The fresh veggies? Or the cheese?

Every burger has something to offer.

This year’s competitors are ready to make your heart stop (literally, maybe) with a combination of their talent, ingredients and passion for cooking.

Whether chicken, fish, shrimp, pork, beef or mystery meat—who knows—only taste can tell who will walk away as the 2011 Burgerfest winner. 

Let the grilling begin!

BURGERFEST 2011 2

The Defending Champions

A Peace, Love Handles & Barbeque team mem-ber showcases his culinary skills in last year’s MV Guam Burgerfest. This year’s event is poised to be bigger and better than last years with more competitors, entertainment, and tons of fun set to hit the stage on Sunday.

“I like mine with lettuce and tomatoHeinz 57 and french fried potatoesBig kosher pickle and a cold draft beer…”

Introduction...[St

aff Bo

x]: Guam PublisherAmier C. Younis

Editor in ChiefJon A. Anderson

WriterGeraldine Castillo

Copy EditorMiriam Rupley

Layout ArtistAmier C. Younis

Advertising ManagerMiriam Rupley

Advertising RepresentativesFrankie CruzEsther Paul

Graphic ArtistsMichele Blas

Ehrian Martinez

Burger King Whopper Eating Contestants!Congratulations to the following individuals that filled out entry forms and have been selected to compete in the BK Whopper Eating Contest! Be sure to show up at MV Guam Burgerfest this Sunday at Skinner Plaza to compete! Sunday, May 29 from 2pm to 8pm. BK Whopper Eating Contestants vie for a chance to win $750 1st Place and $250 2nd Place!

1. Kristoffer B. Castro 2. Patrick M. Chargualaf 3. Robert Frutos 4. Keith Paul Ojeada Rabago 5. Nathan D. San Agustin 6. Justin Castro 7. Vance Villagomez

8. David Popovich 9. James Underwood III 10. Paul J. Rabago 11. Ronny Borja 12. Michael D. Dilley 13. Felix Manibusan

BURGERFEST 2011

House of Brutus returns in hopes of defending their title of first place. Located on the ground floor of the ITC Building in Tamuning, HOB features daily specials, offered seven days a week. They also offer a variety of great comfort burgers. Customers love the original Brutus burger, In & Out burger (a tribute to the popular burger joint that originated in southern California) and of course the King Brutus Burger, last year’s overall Burgerfest champ.

Tell me about your signature burger.  It’s called “The Shogun Burger.”

What puts your burger above competition?  Besides the originality of each burger, the thought and passion to please the 5th sense of umami has been painstakingly put together. How long have you been in the (grilling) business?  House of Brutus is in its sixth year. What special ingredients will you be using? That’s a secret. We can’t really disclose that. But one bite and your taste buds will know. Although pinpoint-ing the ingredient may not be completely possible …

Q & A

House of BrutusThe Defending Champions

[Kaz Endo]

Team House of Brutus are all grins being the defending champions of MV Guam Burgerfest 2010. HOB is seeking to retain the title of the Ultimate Burger in the Gourmet Division. Is a repeat possible? see HOB on page 8

3

Burger King Whopper Eating Contestants!

BURGERFEST 2011 4

Aji-Ichi Japanese Restaurant opened as the first ramen house more than 30 years ago on Guam. It grew to be one of the most favored Japanese restaurants among locals famous for their Bento Box, Sushi Box, Tofu Salad, and more. According to owner Taro Tsuruga, in Febru-ary they invited Tetsu Matsunami, who has a wonderful carrier background, as their executive chef and plans to do something new to make everybody happier.

Tell me about your signature burger.It’s “Tuna Shrimp Rice Burger.” Created especially for this contest by our executive chef Tetsu Matsunami and would be served in the restaurant in the near fu-ture.

What puts your burger above competition?  It should be a brand new experience for most of the peo-ple. Even in Japan, ‘rice burgers’ are not served in many places. The harmony of “rice buns,” TATAKI style tuna, av-ocado, grilled shrimp and wasabi mayo is just perfect! How long have you been in the (grilling) business? Aji-Ichi has been on the island more than 30 years. And the chef Tetsu had been working for an au-thentic Japanese restaurant in Roppongi, Tokyo,

for 11 years when he came to Guam this February. What special ingredients will you be using? Tuna, Shrimp, Avocado, Fish caviar, wasabi, etc.

Will this be the unveiling of something original and new? Yes!

History of the burger — the inception of your con-fection!  After the earthquake/tsunami, I was so impressed how much the local community cared for us Japanese and how generous they were. And I was always think-ing how I could repay its kindness.As a Japanese restaurant owner, I thought I should try to do it through our foods. Then I heard about this contest and was convinced that this is the way to go. I talked to our chef Tetsu, and started developing. Dur-ing the development, we had five different kinds of concept, you may see some of them at Aji-Ichi soon, and out of them we have chosen this “Tuna Shrimp.”

How often do you eat burgers? Once a week or so. Any comments you have for your

competition? I’m not thinking to compete with them. All of them must have wonderful burgers with their own stories and I really respect them. We, as a Japanese restau-rant, just want to serve something representing Ja-pan. I’m really proud that I can participate with all the other wonderful restaurants.

[Taro Tsuruga] Team Aji-IchiThe Contenders

Q & A

Q & A

Let your taste buds take an adventure to Louisiana with the authentic South-ern specialty dishes offered at Cajun Delight in the Days Inn, Barrigada. Cajun Delight’s owner and dedicated cook, Pearl Turner, or “Mama Peaches” is more than willing to whip up local favorites such as smothered pork chops, fabulous ribs, Jambalaya & Dirty Rice, Black-eyed peas with ham hocks, Cajun Crawfish Fettuc-cine, or even her homemade peach cob-bler.

Tell me about your signature burger.  My signature burger is going to be Cat-fish—Louisiana Catfish. I figured since ev-eryone on Guam’s doing beef, I should do something fish. There’s going to be two types: blackened catfish and a grilled cat-

fish sandwich, both with crawfish etouffee sauce.

What puts your burger above competi-tion?  It’s authentic. It’s actually food that was created in Louisiana. The crawfish is im-ported from Louisiana. The sauce is an original recipe from my grandmother. Everything is actually homemade. It’s cooked with love. It’s not about winning for me. I just love cooking for people. How long have you been in the (grill-ing) business?  All my life.

What special ingre-dients will you be using?

Some Cajun seasonings and the crawfish etouffee sauce. Will this be the unveiling of something original and new? Yes!

History of the burger — the inception of your confection!  The (catfish) burger originated from Loui-siana but with the etouffee sauce, it’s my creation. How often do you eat burgers? Not a hamburger person but I do make nice hamburgers. Any comments you have for your com-petition? I pray everyone wins!

Hooters Guam opened in April 2009 and is located at the Acanta Mall, Tumon. Customers can swing by to catch their favorite sports teams on television or even UFC title fights. Their all-American menu fea-

tures tasty wings, oysters, clams, burgers and ice cold beer. Hooters has a great selection

of burgers, including a build-your-own and their most popular burger, the western BBQ bacon cheeseburger.

Tell me about your signature burger.  It’s called the “Hootie Burger”

What puts your burger above competition? 

Besides the originality of each burger, the thought and passion to please the 5th sense of umami has been painstakingly put together. How long have you been in the (grilling) business?  Hooters is on its second year. What special ingredients will you be using? That’s a secret. We can’t really disclose that. But one bite and your taste buds will know. Although pinpointing the ingredient may not be com-pletely possible … that’s exactly how it should be.  

Cajun Delight

Hooters

[Pearl Turner]

[Kaz Endo]

Q & A

see HOOTERS on page 5

BURGERFEST 2011 5

[Taro Tsuruga] Team Aji-Ichi

The Judges...

Q & A

Representing Hit Radio 100 are The Burger MC’s Rick Nauta, John Sabares and Aaron Tamayo.

Rick says they’ve been grilling “competi-tively since birth” and that he was born on a grill—with burn marks to prove it. Aaron Tamayo had his very first burger through breastfeeding as an infant. Ap-parently, he already knew burgers from

the womb. John Sabares, on the other hand, breeds his own goats thus being able to provide goat cheese.

“At least we think they’re goat … or deer, or donkey,” says Rick. “But it’s defi-nitely not dog.”

Rick is the self-proclaimed genius who agreed to be interviewed. He provides

the meat. John provides the buns. Aaron provides the sauce. Last but not least, they want everyone to know there is no truth to the rumor that they have Osama bin Laden meat in their burger.

Tell me about your signature burger.  It’s going to be a combination of meat – we’re using boiled gecko tails. We’re going to call it the “CAN I KICK IT”. We’re joining the classic competition this year. We don’t want to discourage everybody with our winning ways, (by) winning both categories in our first try.

What puts your burger above compe-tition?  Our burger is made with not just our heart but our soul. How long have you been in the (grill-ing) business?  Not in the business, but I’ve been grill-ing since I lit up my first fire and cooked a grasshopper on it.

What special ingredients will you be using? Gecko tails. Lots of Ajinomoto. Oh! And black pepper. (John says Jufran Banana Ketchup, too). Will this be the unveiling of some-thing original and new? We don’t have a place to serve it just yet other than in the office. But, if someone wants to buy our recipe for a million dollars, we’ll be more than happy to sell it.

History of the burger — the inception of your confection!  We got our burger recipe from our in-tern “Sasa.” Sasa worked at Department of Corrections. Every once in a while she’d talk to the prisoners and they give her their secrets. We’ve got a DOC-orig-inated burger.

Any comments you have for your competition? Yes, you guys should have used gecko tails like we did.

HootersWill this be the unveiling of some-thing original and new? ALL NEW. NEVER SEEN STUFF!!

History of the burger — the inception of your confection!  All our recipes were trial and er-ror and none of it was passed down to generations - although that may be what happens now; given our success with the current products.

We hope to continue the winning streak with this year’s submissions.

How often do you eat burgers? At least once or twice a week. It’s defi-nitely a part of my personal menu.   Any comments you have for your competition? Good luck and may everyone have a great time at the event. At the end of the day, we all win since we are celebrat-ing the birth of unique, original burgers! Win, lose or draw, our teams are going to have fun out there ... And of course we are coming out grills a blazing!

Hit Radio 100 (The Burger MC’s)– [Rick Nauta, John Sabares, Aaron Tamayo]

Mike Camacho Title: President and CEO of Personal Finance Center

Chef Singh Title: Executive Chef of Hard Rock Cafe

Ryan EdeyaochTitle: Operations Supervisor of Pepsi Bottling Guam

Rudolph Rodolfo Title: Regional Manager of Burger King Guam

Tommy Morelli Title: Agana Store Manager of Dial Rent to Own

Raul Uson Title: Food Service Manager for MBI

Shane MooreTitle: Owner of Asan Sunset Bar and Grill

Stephen ButlerTitle: Owner of Porky’s

Stephen J. TestaTitle: Construction Manager of SSFM International

[Alternate Judges]Dan MormanTitle: General Manager of Porky’s

DJ PogiTitle: Professional Disc Jockey

BURGERFEST 2011 6

BURGERFEST 2011 7

BURGERFEST 2011 8

that’s exactly how it should be.

Will this be the unveiling of some-thing original and new? ALL NEW. NEVER SEEN STUFF!!

History of the burger — the inception of your confection!  All our recipes were trial and error and none of it was passed down to genera-tions - although that may be what hap-

pens now; given our success with the current products. We hope to continue the winning streak with this year’s sub-missions.

How often do you eat burgers? At least once or twice a week. It’s defi-nitely a part of my personal menu.   Any comments you have for your competition?Good luck and may everyone have a great time at the event. At the end of the day, we all win since we are celebrat-ing the birth of unique, original burgers! Win, lose or draw, our teams are going to have fun out there ... And of course we are coming out grills a blazing!

HOB...

Located in the heart of Hagåtña, the Mermaid Tavern & Grille is Guam’s only brewpub restaurant, serving daily spe-cials, different kinds of burgers and Guam’s only locally brewed beers.

Tell me about your signature burger.  If my burger was a woman, it would be called the Natalie Portman of burgers. The other burger would be the Jessica Alba of burgers.

What puts your burger above compe-tition?  I don’t think it really puts it above com-petition. It’s just a good idea. How long have you been in the (grill-ing) business?  Seven years.

What special ingredients will you be using? A lot of local ingredients.

Will this be the unveiling of some-thing original and new?

Yes. This is something we came up strict-ly for the competition.

History of the burger — the inception of your confection!  It actually started as a joke. A couple of shots in and a six pack of beer, and this is what we came up with.

Any comments you have for your competition? Just have fun. Keep it clean.

Guam’s own “Outdoor Chef” Peter Due-nas is no stranger to the grilling busi-ness. Owner of Meskla Chamoru Fusion Bistro in Hagatna and Meskla Dos in Tamuning, Chef Peter dares not go into detail what he’ll be bringing to the ta-ble on Sunday. Chef Peter says, “We have been told that we have Guam’s best burger by many, but come over and have a taste for yourself if you haven’t already!”

Tell me about your signature burger.  We are entering both categories and only the judges will have a taste of what we think may win.

What puts your burger above com-petition?  I can’t say that we are above the rest. We are passionate about food and we will

make something that we think is great!

How long have you been in the (grill-ing) business?  2.5 years now. What special ingredients will you be using? I can’t speculate at this time. My team is working on something at the moment. Will this be the unveiling of some-thing original and new? It will be something new and pos-sibly on the future menu if we win.

History of the burger — the incep-tion of your confection!  We just made something that sounded good in the mind and that’s what we got. How often do you eat burgers? Once in a while. Any comments you have for your competition? Good luck to all of the competitors.

MV Guam Burgerfest 2010’s Ultimate Burger, the Brutus King Burger, is shown in this photo. The burger is made to order until this day at House of Brutus. Who will be this year’s Ultimate Burger? On Sunday, we will find out.

Q & A

Q & A

Q & A

The ContendersThe Mermaid Tavern and Grille

[Joshua Wood] Meskla [Chef Peter Duenas]

Pier 65 Pub & Grill is unlike any place you’ve ever been to on Guam. That’s probably because you haven’t. It’s hid-den in Tamuning, behind Mango Elec-tronics which is across from AK Toyota. Owned by Gary & Sue Huck, Pier 65 brings a new taste directly from Chi-cago.

The hottest selling item on their menu right now is the

Reuben sandwich. “I cannot keep corn beef in stock, I can prepare them but then the next day they’re gone,” says Sue about the fast-selling sandwich.

What puts your burger above competition?  People like it. They say it’s the

best burger on the island. How long have you been in the (grill-ing) business?  A year and a half. What special ingredients will you be using? No secret ingredients.

Will this be the unveiling of some-thing original and new? We already serve it at our restaurant.

History of the burger — the inception of your confection!  It was a trial and error thing. But people began to like it.

How often do you eat burgers?I eat burgers every day.

[Gary & Sue Huck]Pier 65

Team Captain Matt Prejean

Team members Rhett Villanueva & Team Captain Andy Fernandez

BURGERFEST 2011 9

Spearheading a team sponsored by KAT-SONS is Anthony Cruz, along with Martin Leon Guererro and Ken Manibusan. KAT-SONS is a Chamorro-brand sausage that was produced on Guam and now made in California. It is owned by the Aflague fami-ly who has used their family recipe for over 80 years. A friend of the family since his childhood, Anthony Cruz hopes to bring his talents to the table and showcase his passion for making burgers. Tell me about your signature burger.  We’re planning to use KATSONS ground

pork or ground chicken.

For the gourmet part, we’re lean-ing towards the pork side. We’re thinking of using bleu cheese. For the classic burger, we’ll be using Thousand Island dressing, sweet relish, and everything ba-sic.

What puts your burger above competi-tion?  Maybe just our hard work and willingness. My friend Martin Leon Guererro’s work-ing behind the scenes and he’s helping to push it forward because he’s really com-petitive.

How long have you been in the (grilling) business?  I used to have a busi-ness but it closed, however I continue to find new ways of im-proving the burger. What special ingre-dients will you be using? For the gourmet burg-

er, we’ll use KATSONS ground pork. For the classic burger, it’s gonna be the big boy’s basic – Thousand Island dressing and rel-ish. Will this be the unveiling of something original and new?

It’s just improving the old with the classic burger’s patty –making it sweeter.The gourmet is going to be the first time we’ll be using KATSONS pork.

History of the burger — the inception of your confection!  The classic burger is a passed-down secret family recipe with me making improve-ments to the patty. The gourmet burger is going to use the basic ground pork that’s been passed down generation to genera-tion and me just continually experiment-ing with it.

Any comments you have for your com-petition? Good luck and may the best team win. Next time we go to your house we wanna try your burger!

Hailing from Ordot, 60-year-old Tony Ramirez returns to the MV Guam Burgerfest after having entered his

“Guahan Burger” last year. Quite the busy bee, Ramirez works for the Depart-ment of Parks and Recreation and is

involved with a number of community projects—both civic and religious. He and his family are looking forward to the competition and hope everyone en-joys what he has to offer. Tell me about your signature burger.  It’s called the Fina’Denne Dinanche Mushroom Burger.

What puts your burger above compe-tition?  Any entry to the Burgerfest has to be unique, different. That’s the thing that separates the winner. Everything I make comes from the heart. And the heart that comes from my burger comes from so many hearts of a family tradition. How long have you been in the (grill-ing) business?  Since I was young—around seven years old.

What special ingredients will you be using? Two main things – fina’denne and sau-

téed mushroom namely.

Will this be the unveiling of some-thing original and new? It’s a family recipe.

History of the burger — the inception of your confection!  My mother operated one of the first hamburger stands on Guam after World War II. At the time they were called “snack bars.” Our snack bar was located adjacent to the first George Washing-ton High School when it was located at Mongmong. We sold several hamburg-ers. Since then we’ve made many varia-tions and developments to the recipe.

How often do you eat burgers?Depends on my preferences.

Any comments you have for your competition? I wish all the participants well. And most of all I am very grateful that the MV Guam team and staff continues to come up with this event and engage the com-munity.

[Anthony Cruz]

Q & A

The Contenders

Meskla

The only hotel to make its debut at this year’s Burgerfest, the competitive Guam Reef is excited to unveil their newest ba-by—a burger—born from the creative minds of chefs led by Promotions Manager Chito de Guzman. Guam Reef Hotel has several food outlets which include Alize, a family restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet; Sango Restau-rant; Top of the Reef, a mellow bar in the highest floor, overlooking Tumon Bay; and the Pala-Pala Pool Bar, for the sun lovers. Tell me about your signature burger.  It’s called the Pala-Pala Burger. It’s actually

named after one of our outlets by the Infin-ity Pool called the Pala-Pala Pool Bar. It’s a new creation from our team of chefs.

What puts your burger above competi-tion?  People don’t know we have a very good burger. I’ve tried other burgers on island, but Guam Reef Hotel has this new creation and we’re excited to participate in this event and bring out this new product.

What special ingredients will you be us-ing? The burger buns are specially made by us.

We bake our own bread. We’ll be using bread crumbs, pumpkin (slices) and on-ions.

History of the burger — the inception of your confection!  The chefs and I had a brainstorming ses-sion. We did an in-house competition where one made the chicken burger, an-other did the seafood (salmon) burger, and the other did a beef burger.

Any comments you have for your com-petition? Guam Reef Hotel is here! Hopefully we win.

Katsons

Man Gåchung Guåhan [Tony Ramirez]

Tony Ramirez wowed the crowd last year with his traditional Chamorro preparation of a meal--albeit a burger. Ramirez promises that he has perfected his recipe this year and he is gunning for the trophy.

Guam Reef Hotel [Chito de Guzman] Team Captain Chef Johnny Isadora

BURGERFEST 2011 10

Delmonico by Kitchen & Bar is located in the lobby of the Bayview Hotel, Tumon. They’ve been open since September of last year. They serve two popular steak burgers - the KB Burger and the Monster Burger. Of the two, the Monster Burger is their most popular. Both burgers have DKB’s signature crispy parmesan cheese at the center.

Tell me about your signature burger.  It’s called the “WTF! Burger.”

What puts your burger above compe-tition?  Besides the originality of each burger, the thought and passion to please the 5th sense of umami has been painstak-ingly put together. How long have you been in the (grill-ing) business?  DKB is in its first year.

What special ingredients will you be using? That’s a secret. We can’t really disclose that. But one bite and your taste buds will know. Although pinpointing the ingredient may not be completely pos-sible ... that’s exactly how it should be.

History of the burger — the inception of your confection!  All our recipes were trial and error and none of it was passed down to genera-tions - although that may be what hap-pens now; given our success with the current products.

Any comments you have for your competition? Good luck and may everyone have a great time at the event. At the end of the day, we all win since we are celebrat-ing the birth of unique, original burgers! Win, lose or draw, our teams are going to have fun out there ... And of course we are coming out grills a blazing!

BURGERFEST 2011 11

Marianas Variety supports the pursuit of higher education and in connection with the 2011 MV Guam Burgerfest; funds from this event will go towards a culinary scholarship from the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association.

The beneficiary for this year’s event is GHRA. As the beneficiary, GHRA will uti-lize the funds for a scholarship to the Guam Community College Culinary Arts Academy.

The GCC Culinary Program is a fully accred-ited program where students will need to complete 72 semester credits to earn an Associate of Arts degree in Culinary Arts. This program is designed to give the stu-dents a well-rounded knowledge base that will enable them to be successful in today’s professional kitchen. Students are held to a high academic standard to en-sure they meet the need of the industry.

The program is funded for the most part by student tuition. When it comes to large pieces of equipment, they are funded through the college. There is a limit of 50 students per semester.

As the first full-time Chef hired by GCC for the Culinary Arts Program, Chef Kevin Di-etrichs brings his 25 years of expertise to the kitchen while teaching students the skills and techniques needed in the trade. There are two full-time chef instructors; the other is Chef Paul Kerner. Combined, Chef Kevin and Chef Paul have over 60 years of experience in the business.

Although upon graduation you will not be a “chef”, you will have been given the information and knowledge base to be-come a chef in a shorter amount of time than if you just worked your way up the ranks, says Chef Kevin. When a student graduates from a culinary school, they

are not automatically a chef. New culinary students must spend some time in the kitchen honing their skill and technique, as we like to say in the business “pay their dues,” he adds.

It is the hope of MV Guam that these GCC culinary students ace Burger-ology, so they can become future competitors in our annual MV Guam Burgerfest.

Chef Kevin Dietrichs assists a GCC Culinary Arts Academy student in pre-paring a culinary delight.

Proceeds to benefit...

Delmonico by Kitchen & Bar [Chef Eddie Chen]The Contenders

Q & A

Team Captain Heronimo “Mo” Matsumiya

BURGERFEST 2011 12