You ever had a Cookie Chaos Milkshake? Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders? Welcome to the State Fair of Texas, where zany food and drink are the norm.
By Sarah Blaskovich
Senior Food Reporter
Nathan Hunsinger / Special Contributor
Oohs and ahhs erupted from a crowd in Dallas’ Fair Park when a State Fair of Texas spokesperson announced the belt-busting, headline-making dishes at the Big Tex Choice Awards, the fair’s annual food and drink contest.
The loudest cries came for one of the strangest: Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders. It won “most creative.”
“To use egg as the vehicle for a bun, who’d ever thought that would work?” asked Jeff Allen, a Super Bowl winning NFL player for the Kansas City Chiefs and a judge for the annual State Fair event.
He loved it.
“Listen,” said Keandre “Dre” Hopkins, another Big Tex Choice Awards judge and an influencer who runs @dreindallas.
“I think I’m gonna buy at least 10 of these.”
The Big Tex Choice Awards made history in 2025. Judges crowned four winners, one more than the usual three. A category called “best taste — sipper” was added in 2025 after an influx of “fairified drinks” were entered into the contest, said Karissa Condoianis, senior vice president of public relations and spokesperson for the State Fair, during the Big Tex Choice Awards announcement on Aug. 21, 2025.
And although food and drink have been highlights at the State Fair of Texas for most of its nearly 140-year history, the menu was supersized 20 years ago, when the Big Tex Choice Awards were founded.
It’s the 21st year of the Big Tex Choice Awards. Concessionaires submitted 76 entries into the contest in 2025. From that list, 30 were named semifinalists and 15 were announced as finalists.
Here’s a breakdown of the four winners of the 2025 Big Tex Choice Awards. Think of these as the queens of the State Fair of Texas.
They’re bound to be the belles of this fried-food ball.
Best Taste – Sweet
Chill & Thrill Delight: $18
Husband-wife team Tony and Terry Bednar’s Chill & Thrill dish was created to beat the Texas heat. It’s a cup of fruit topped with shears of mango sorbet that sit on top like a cool hairdo.
It’s “colorful, refreshing and fresh,” said judge Jeff Allen. Judges seemed to enjoy that the Chill & Thrill wasn’t too sweet — and that it had real fruit in it.
Hopkins called it “crazy,” in a good way.
“It’s really, really, really good.”
Best Taste – Sipper
Cookie Chaos Milkshake: $17
Concessionaire Brad Weiss missed the Big Tex Choice Awards announcement because his wife was in labor during the event. A stand-in family friend accepted the “best taste — sipper” award and was presented with a Big Tex onesie to honor the occasion.
Weiss’ award-winning Cookie Chaos Milkshakeis a cookie butter drink mixed with crumbs from snickerdoodles, Golden Oreos and classic Oreos. It’s topped with whipped cream and more cookie butter — earning its name.
Judges Marissa Allen and her NFL husband Jeff Allen co-own a company called Cookie Society. They critiqued the milkshake first, and Marissa Allen called it “amazing.”
She said of the “best taste — sipper” winner: “They did cookies proud.”
Best Taste – Savory
Crab & Mozzarella Arancini: $18
Concessionaire Stefan Nedwetzky makes nearly every part of his crab and mozzarella arancini. It’s a fried ball of cheese, rice and crab encased in breadcrumbs that come from bread Nedwetzky bakes at his Plano restaurant, Texapolitan Pizza.
Big Tex Choice Award judge Alex Snodgrass, the author of the cookbook The Defined Dish, offered this insight: It’s a “cross between a mozzarella stick [that] meets a Cajun-inspired jambalaya fried ball.”
“I dig it,” she said.
Most Creative
Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders: $22
“I don’t know how you think of something like this,” said judge Marissa Allen.
The dish was dreamt up by Kendall Williams, a caterer and now Big Tex Choice Awards winner. She is a second-year concessionaire at the State Fair and a first-time Big Tex Choice Awards entrant.
Each slider is a bacon cheeseburger with fried deviled eggs as buns.
“This dish is the king of texture: crunchy, soft, crunchy, soft,” said judge Chris Meyer, general manager of Karbach Brewing.
The State Fair of Texas runs Sept. 26 to Oct. 19, 2025, at Fair Park in Dallas.
Sarah Blaskovich reports on restaurants, bars and culture in Dallas-Fort Worth. She profiles North Texas’ top chefs, follows food trends and breaks news on restaurants opening and closing. She formerly worked at the Associated Press in London and is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. Follow @sblaskovich on X and ask her where to eat.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
