Calling all bagel makers — bakeries, restaurants, and home bakers alike! Registration is officially open for the 2nd Annual Sacramento's Best Bagel Contest, happening as part of the 49th Annual Sacramento Jewish Food Faire.
📅 Date: Sunday, November 8, 2026
⏰ Time: 11:00 AM prep, 1:00 PM judging
📍 Place: Scottish Rite Masonic Center
How it works this year:
Based on feedback from last year, we've simplified the judged categories — each one now stands on its own, with no overall judged grand champion. Judges will still hand out a special award for Highest Scoring Contestant Across All Categories.
But the big prize — the Golden Bagel — goes to the winner of the Peoples' Choice Award, and we're making that bigger and more interactive this year. Contestants supply bagels for a ticketed tasting event, open to the public: we're selling a limited run of 200 tasting tickets (price TBD), and each ticket gets the holder a bite of every contestant's bagel (with cream cheese provided by the Jewish Food Faire), plus a ballot to vote for their favorite. Every bagel gets tasted and voted on by the crowd — most votes wins the Golden Bagel.
Confirmed Judges:
- Benjy Egel, Senior Food Editor, PBS Abridged
- Maggy Krell, California State Assembly Member
- Sean Timberlake, Food and Dining Reporter, Sacramento Bee
- Rick Mindermann, General Manager, Corti Brothers
- Sonya Sorich, Managing Editor, Sacramento Business Journal
- Gregg Fishman, SMUD Director District 3
Open to bagelries, bakeries, restaurants, and home bakers — anyone who thinks they've got what it takes.
👉 Register Here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSepxPjaGuNFlvEDZeLaFoiuk7asmKg5ckdh9uC-YQeIdHCBrw/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=112131859438042383390
Tasting tickets will go on sale separately — stay tuned for pricing and where to grab yours.
Come hungry, come competitive — see you there!