Chris Folkman is a foodie at heart.
His mom taught him and his siblings to cook basic meals at home when they were young, and he’s loved food and cooking ever since. Now with his own family he likes getting creative in the kitchen and expressing his love for others through the food he makes.
His “Silent Love” burger won the “My Dream Burger” contest Aug. 8 at Conroe’s Burger Fresh & More. His burger will be featured on the restaurant’s menu for the month of September.
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“I chose ‘Silent Love’ because love isn’t always shown in words, it can be expressed in other ways,” he said.
For him its for the dishes he cooks for his family and friends. Folkman, 33, has always appreciated a good pineapple teriyaki burger and wanted to give his own version a spin for this contest.
Cara Canada McCollum said she and her dad, James Canada who owns Burger Fresh, wanted to spice up the burger menu at the restaurant.
In May, the spot went from a 1,500-square-foot space at 804 Gladstell Road in Conroe to a total of 3,800 square foot by expanding into the space adjacent to the original spot.
The Conroe staple was opened in 1997 by Jay Lehman who died in 2019. When Lehman retired, Scott Levantino bought it and five years ago Canada bought the establishment.
In 2009, Texas Monthly named Burger Fresh’s burger the No. 13 best burger in Texas.
Wanting to rekindle the burger love, they decided to host the “My Dream Burger” contest.
They put a post on the Facebook page “I Love Conroe” asking community members for their “Dream Burger.”
“We thought maybe we’d get 10 or 20 suggestions. We got 500 suggestions. We narrowed it down to 20, then 10 and then the three finalists,” she said.
Montgomery County personality Nathan Arrazate served as the emcee.
The other two finalists were Ignacio Salinas with the “Jam Packed Burger” and Tabitha Etheridge with the “Tubby Tot” burger.
Folkman and Etheridge cooked their burgers before the audience. Salinas was not available and he was represented in the competition by Julian Pelayo, a recent graduate of Willis High School.
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The judges were Lorena Chan from I Love Conroe, Mike Bendiksen from the Montgomery County Foodies Facebook page and Carlos Sanchez from the Conroe Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
They judged the three burgers on originality, inspiration, preparation and crowd interaction, ingredients, juice factor, texture, final presentation and the wow factor.
Bendiksen likes to rate burgers based on how many napkins he needs while eating one. The “Silent Love” burger rated seven napkins in this contest.
The winning burger features Burger Fresh’s jalapeno sourdough bun on top and bottom, a special sauce Folkman whipped up with mayo and teriyaki sauce, avocado, bacon, mozzarella cheese, a pineapple slice and a third-pound patty.
The chef also sings and entertained the audience with the song “Yellow” from the band Coldplay.
Next, they are looking for the ultimate list of pancake toppings. When they get more than 100 ideas on their Facebook page, they’ll give away a pancake dinner.
Visit the Burger Fresh & More Facebook page.
