The 2026 Holy Cross Wine and Cheese Festival will feature a Nachos competition for 8 chefs, with the winning chef taking home a Golden Ticket to the World Food Championships. To compete as a chef, click here.
NUMBER OF COMPETITORS: For this competition, a maximum of ten chefs will compete.
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: This event is an extension of the Holy Cross Wine and Cheese Festival, where 100 private participants will pay an extra fee to taste the entries and receive a “People’s Choice” vote. The People’s Choice vote will count towards the vote used to calculate the winners.
CHEF REGISTRATION: The registration fee is $200 (waived for Team Indiana chefs). Registration priority is first-come, first-served, with completed online applications (time- and date-stamped) determining the order of entry. Registration fees (when applicable) must be paid in full prior to acceptance into the competition. Venmo or PayPal arrangements must be made with the event host: [email protected].
OFFICIAL RULES: What constitutes a legal “Nacho?” For the purposes of this competition, the following definitions apply:
1) Cheese Definition: Any cheese or cheese product or combination thereof.
2) Nachos Definition: A layered dish consisting of fried or baked tortilla chips topped with melted cheese and a variety of complementary ingredients—such as proteins, sauces, vegetables, and garnishes—assembled to achieve a balance of crunch, richness, acidity, heat, and freshness.
3) From a culinary perspective, key elements of a "nacho" include: · Base: Crisp tortilla chips (ideally house-made for better structure and flavor) · Cheese: Meltability and coverage are critical (e.g., queso, Oaxaca, cheddar blends) · Protein (optional): Seasoned meats, beans, or plant-based alternatives · Contrast: Fresh components like pico de gallo, crema, pickled jalapeños, and herbs · Structure: Even distribution so each chip carries toppings (avoiding sogginess)
At a higher level, nachos become a study in layering, heat control, and textural integrity—simple in concept, but easy to execute poorly and surprisingly nuanced when done well.
The nacho entry must be a hot presentation that contains at least one type of cheese and at least one type of fried or baked tortilla chip. The entry can include additional items such as condiments, vegetables, and proteins if it is hot, contains at least one type of cheese, and includes fried or baked tortilla chips.
After meeting the technical definition of nachos, chef participants must consider execution, appearance, and taste. Appearance and taste can be powerful differentiators for competitors, but execution is critical. Chef participants should consider the following three points of execution as they develop their entry
The importance of cheese:
As part of the annual Holy Cross Wine & Cheese festival, the emphasis on “cheese” will be an important evaluative factor in the execution portion of the scores for participating chefs. Entries that abide by minimum requirements, while technically legal, may suffer from low execution scores. For example, if a single slice of cheese is used alongside a few chips, with four types of protein, and three vegetables, the execution score of “nachos” will be lower. This type of entry is more of a “creative appetizer with a slice of cheese and some chip for crunch” instead of “nachos”. To put it bluntly, judges and participants should have no doubt that the cheese is a star component of the nacho entry.
An elevated combination of flavors.
It’s hard to beat a classic nacho plate, but adding additional flavors can enhance this combo and elevate it to a higher level of culinary perfection. Any additional ingredient combination must enhance the entry's harmony and complexity without downgrading the star components (cheese and chips).
What must be prepared for judging? Each chef must prepare a whole plate as a standout presentation for the entry’s evaluation at their station (Appearance), while also preparing a minimum of 104 small hot dog boats (provided) for tasting over the course of the hour-long competition. Chefs should consider the appropriate sample size for a judging participant to fully appreciate the entry's flavor (Taste) and deliver the desired combination of flavors and textures (Execution).
Additionally, the following rules apply:
Chefs who do not abide by the rules will lose their eligibility for awards.
Participating chefs must submit the following information prior to June 20, 2026, to be eligible for the competition.
THE COMPETITION: Chefs should be prepared to create one nacho plate and at least 104 samples within 1 hour.
Beginning at 6 PM, samples should be prepared for the panel of 4 expert judges and 100 guests. Chefs have one hour to serve all guests and judges.
AWARDS
Tallying Results for People’s Choice: At the end of the hour, all tickets will be counted, and the participating chef with the most tickets will be announced as the People's Choice Award winner. In the event of a People’s Choice tie, the expert judge’s rank of scores will be used to break the tie. The winner of the People’s Choice Award “may” receive a token, trophy, or award (at the discretion of the festival committee) acknowledging the accomplishment.
Final Judge’s Awards: The panel of expert judges will use the E.A.T. methodology (from the World Food Championships) to determine their winner and runner-up. The People’s Choice winner will serve as the first tiebreaker in the final judge’s awards (if a tiebreaker is needed).
1st Place In partnership with the World Food Championships, the judge’s winner of the Nachos Showdown will receive a Golden Ticket (Valued at $1,000), which is an official entry into the World Food Championships. This ticket allows registration for one specific competition category in the World Food Championships. The ticket category may not be related to Nachos. All registration fees and submission requirements for the World Food Championships are the responsibility of the winning chef.
Runner Up In partnership with the World Food Championships, the runner up (2nd Place) of the Nachos Showdown will receive entrance into the Last Chance Qualifier (pending annual confirmation of a Last Chance Qualifier event) at the World Food Championships, which is an official entry into the year’s final qualifier for World Food Championships (typically held one day prior to the November event). This entrance will allow for registration into the qualifier, but all registration fees and submission requirements for World Food Championships events are the responsibility of the winning chef.
ARRIVAL: Chefs can arrive any time after 4 PM to prep. Event staff will meet arriving chefs and show them to their space.
PARKING: Chefs can park along Arsenal or State Street nearby. Chefs should allow ample time for loading and unloading due to heavy foot traffic during the event.
EQUIPMENT: Every chef will have a 6’ table for prep and service. Chefs must bring their own pots, pans, knives, trays, ladles, ingredients, coolers, etc.
PLATES: Recyclable plates and ticket jars will be available for chefs to accommodate all guests.
PREP: As a privately ticketed event in a public festival, chefs may prep onsite or offsite. The competition will take place outdoors under a tent, with no access to power or heat.
PERMIT: Chefs may be required to provide their own temporary food permit.
EVENT LAYOUT: This is an outdoor event held on the Sturm Esplanade, between Arsenal and State on Sturm Avenue, near Arsenal Tech High School. This competition will take place in a 20x20 tent centrally located within the festival.
DISCLAIMERS Judge’s winners are solely responsible for all expenses, costs, or fees associated with transportation and acceptance and/or use of the prize not specified herein as being awarded, including, without limitation, any and all taxes (if any). The winner is not a recipient of a prize until s/he has been verified as the Winner by the judges. Upon fulfilling the prize, the Festival Committee will be deemed to have awarded the prize to the Winner, and such Winner assumes full responsibility for the prize. All annual prize details are at the Festival Committee’s sole discretion. Entrants acknowledge that transportation, if applicable, is not included in the prize and that some events are beyond the control of the Festival Committee and are subject to being rescheduled, modified, or canceled. In that event, the Festival Committee reserves the right to, at its discretion, reschedule the Competition, entry and/or end dates, modify the entry procedures, cancel the Competition, or cancel the awarding of Golden Ticket(s). Prize(s) are not redeemable for cash. GENERAL CONDITIONS: Winning constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use Winner’s name, images, hometown, likeness, prize won, and photograph (all at the Festival Committee’s discretion) for future advertising, publicity in any and all media now or hereafter devised throughout the world in perpetuity, without additional compensation, notification, or permission. Competition Parties and their respective officers, directors, agents, representatives, and employees (collectively, “Released Parties”) are not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, damaged, stolen, altered, garbled, incorrect, incomplete, or delayed Entries; all of which will be void. Released Parties are also not responsible for problems related to technical malfunctions of cooking equipment, electronic equipment, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer hardware or software failures, phone lines, failure of any Entry to be received by the Festival Committee on account of technical problems, traffic, congestion on the internet or the website, or for any other technical problems including telecommunication, miscommunication or failure, and failed, lost, delayed, incomplete, garbled, or misdirected communications which may limit a contestant’s ability to participate in this Competition. Released Parties are not responsible for any other errors or malfunctions of any kind, whether network, printing, typographical, human, or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Competition, including, without limitation, errors or malfunctions which may occur in connection with the administration of the Competition, the processing or judging of Entries, the announcement of the prize or in any Competition-related materials. Mass entries generated by a script, macro or use of automated devices will be disqualified. The Festival Committee reserves the right to modify, suspend or terminate the Competition in the event it becomes infected by a computer virus or is otherwise technically impaired, and to cancel or suspend the Competition in its entirety should tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or other causes corrupt the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper play of the Competition and, if terminated, at the Festival Committee’s discretion, determine the Winner using all non-suspect, eligible entries received up to time of cancellation using the judging procedure outlined above. In the event of a dispute regarding entries received from multiple users having the same email account, the authorized subscriber of the email account at the time of Entry will be deemed to be the contestant and must comply with these Official Rules. An authorized subscriber is a natural person assigned an email address by an Internet Service Provider (ISP), online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses. The Festival Committee reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual (and void his/her Entries)) It is found to be tampering with the Entry process or the operation of this Competition or website, intending to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other contestant, the Festival Committee, or any of its representatives, or to otherwise be acting in violation of these Official Rules. CAUTION: Any attempt by a contestant to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operations of the Competition is a violation of criminal and civil laws. Should such an attempt be made, the Festival Committee reserves the right to seek damages from any such contestant to the fullest extent permitted by the law and to disqualify such contestant from the Competition.
ASSIGNMENT OF RIGHTS: By submitting an Entry, Contestant acknowledges and agrees that the Festival Committee may obtain many submissions under this Competition and that such entries may be similar or identical in theme, idea, format or other respects to others submitted under this Competition and/or other competitions staged and/or sponsored by the Festival Committee, and waive any and all claims contestant may have had, may have, and/or may have in the future, that any composition, design, video and/or other works accepted, reviewed and/or used by the Festival Committee (or its respective designees) may be similar to his/her Entry. Contestant acknowledges and agrees that the Festival Committee does not have now, nor shall any of them have in the future, any duty or liability, direct or indirect, vicarious, contributory, or otherwise, with respect to the infringement or protection of any copyright in and to contestant’s Entry.
MISCELLANEOUS CONDITIONS: Failure to comply with these Official Rules may result in disqualification from the Competition. The Festival Committee reserves the right to permanently disqualify any person it believes has intentionally violated these Official Rules. Competition is subject to all federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited by law.
RELEASES: By entering this Competition, contestants agree to the Festival Committee’s use of their personal information for both online and offline direct marketing purposes.
ARBITRATION & CHOICE OF LAW: Except where prohibited by law, as a condition of participating in this Competition, Contestant agrees that (1) any and all disputes and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Competition, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action lawsuit, and exclusively by final and binding arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association and held at the AAA regional office nearest the contestant; (2) the Federal Arbitration Act shall govern the interpretation, enforcement and all proceedings at such arbitration; and (3) judgment upon such arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. Under no circumstances will contestant be permitted to obtain awards for, and contestant hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental or consequential damages, or any other damages, including attorneys’ fees, other than contestant’s actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e., costs associated with entering this Competition), and contestant (or, if an eligible minor, his/her parent or legal guardian) further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of contestants and the Festival Committee in connection with this Competition, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the substantive laws of the State of Indiana, USA, without regard to Indiana's choice of law rules.
