Food judging records at the state fair date back to 2005 with two key categories: “Best Taste” and “Most Creative,” with past winners including “Fried PB, Jelly and Banana Sandwich” and “Viva Las Vegas Fried Ice Cream” — ice cream coated with a crunchy bite and then deep fried — respectively. In essence, the food is simple, neither extreme nor diverse, but fried American staples.
When compared to 2005, the 2025 top-awarded foods show complexity: “Crab and Mozzarella Arancini,” deep fried balls of rice, cheese, herbs and spices, awarded for “Best Taste – Savory” and “Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders” awarded for “Most Creative.” Since 2005, the categories “Best Sweet” and “Best Sipper” have joined, and in 2025 they were respectively given to the “Chill and Thrill Delight,” a Colombia-inspired cold dessert with tropical fruits, and “Cookie Chaos Milkshake,” a milkshake with original and golden Oreos as well as snickerdoodle bites.
“You have to be creative, the fair demanded that,” Anthony Bednar, co-creator of the “Chill and Thrill Delight,” said. “I think a lot of them [fairgoers] are glad this it isn’t just fried food anymore.”
Bednar said that during the fair’s 24-day run, his shop had sold over 20,000 units of “Chill and Thrill Delight.” For Bednar’s other creation, the “Birria Bomb” — deep-fried balls of Birria meat, mashed potatoes and Oaxaca cheese — he discussed that he was shocked because of such high demand over the new item at a past fair. This experience led Bednar to buying and selling 30,000 pounds of taco meat and 20,000 pounds of chicken, simultaneously shocking himself and the fair management.
The big winners are not only adapting in the limit of what a food should be but what can influence it: Japanese Wagyu beef, Sicilian rice balls and Colombia’s Salpicon de Frutas fruit cocktail. It doesn’t stop with the big winners of these categories, either — one of the finalists for 2025 “Best Savory” were “Deep Fried Tacos,” fried tacos filled with pastrami, mashed potatoes, chives and white cheese.
“It’s like a Jewish deli crashed into a taqueria,” Juan Reaves, who with his brother Brent created the “Deep Fried Tacos,” sad.
Both brothers reaffirm that creativity and originality are required for food vendors to be noticed at the fair; if someone else has done something, the Reaves won’t pursue it. With Bednar, the Reaves’ sentiment is shared among the vendor community. This pursuit of nicheness has led the brothers to TV spots with Jimmy Kimmel, the Food Network and the Dallas Morning News.
“We look at the years where we don’t have a winner or finalist, you can see a drop off in sales,” Juan Reaves said.
The brothers stated the food must have creative, original and taste components, or they won’t be noticed for the fair judging, and thus, noticed by the food influencers or anyone with a menu pamphlet. For just the “Deep Fried Tacos,” the Reaves sold over 4,000 units during the fair’s 24-day duration.
“You can’t get away with what you did five years ago today with the hype from food influencers,” Brent Reaves said.
The explanation for why fair food grows to be Frankenstein-esque creations of cultural, trendy and non-definitive foods is clear: the people want fresh and tasty, whether it be the judges who likely know the history of contested food to veteran fairgoers who are revived every late September for the fair’s showcase of food and drinks. People want to be introduced to Hispanic, Jewish, Asian and other cuisines, be a part of trends such as Dubai chocolate and be a part of the changing food scene. The Bednars and Reaves, along with the other Fair vendor community, provide those opportunities.
While the food and drinks taste good, look crazy and are definitely new, the race for the next hodgepodge item has attracted people to the spectacle, with both vendors’ Facebook pages flooded with comments of positive exclamation from friends and strangers. There is a devoted community around fair food. Not only do the vendors get to share their creations with the world, but the fairgoers also get to be a part of that experience.
“May you come as our guest and leave as a family,” Bednar said. “Let’s come in here [the fair] like a big melting pot and be one big family.”