events

Best of the Heartland Food Truck Championship — March 28

The first-ever Best of the Heartland Food Truck Championship comes to Hardin County Fairgrounds on March 28. Tucker joins Hardin Local Weekly live to break down everything.

Key Takeaways

Saturday, March 28 at Hardin County Fairgrounds in Glendale — free admission, free parking, 10 AM to 6 PM
21 food trucks from across Kentucky competing in 10 categories, judged blind by a panel of 5
Grace Heartland Easter egg hunt on site — bouncy houses, specialty vendors, live music all day
Winners receive a trophy, championship t-shirts, and a custom apron — bragging rights for a full year
Tucker's goal: celebrate local small businesses and keep money circulating in Hardin County

Summary

Russell "Tucker" Tucker joined Hardin Local Weekly live via Restream on S2026E12 to preview the Best of the Heartland Food Truck Championship — the first-ever event of its kind coming to the Hardin County Fairgrounds in Glendale on Saturday, March 28. Phil Taul led the conversation, drawing on a pre-show phone interview with Tucker to bring depth to the segment.

Twenty-one food trucks. Free admission. Blind judging. Easter egg hunt by Grace Heartland. An all-day event designed for families and food lovers to show up, explore, and support local small businesses in a setting that has never existed before in Hardin County.

Full Article

The idea came from a trip Tucker took to Renfro Valley a few years ago.

He was invited to a food truck championship there — watched the competition, saw the crowd, saw what it meant for the trucks that participated — and came home with a question: why does Hardin County not have something like this?

On Saturday, March 28, the answer arrives. The Best of the Heartland Food Truck Championship comes to the Hardin County Fairgrounds in Glendale, Kentucky for its inaugural year. Twenty-one food trucks. Free admission. Blind judging. A full day built for families.

Tucker joined Phil Taul live on Hardin Local Weekly to walk through everything — and he had a lot to walk through.

The Event

Gates open at 10 AM and the day runs until 6 PM at the Hardin County Fairgrounds in Glendale. Parking is free. Admission is free. The only thing you spend money on is the food you eat.

Twenty-one food trucks will be set up in two rows across the fairgrounds, representing a wide range of styles and origins. Tucker described the variety: Hawaiian, Old School Flavor Trailer doing fish, donut trucks, pizza, multiple BBQ operators, Sam's Guy Rose, sweet and salty options, lemonade trailers, dessert trailers. Trucks are coming from Owensboro, Lexington, and all over Kentucky. Tucker's summary: "If you cannot find something to eat, you probably are not going to eat."

Tucker's own truck will be there, competing in the sandwich category with what Britten McDowell has already publicly declared his personal favorite — a seared and smoked baloney sandwich. Tucker also makes a honey bun burger that he confirmed falls in the sandwich category.

The Competition

This is a real championship, run with real structure. A panel of five blind judges will score each competing truck across ten categories: best burger, best BBQ, best chicken, best hot dogs, best dessert, best drinks, best looking food truck, and several others. Nobody knows who the judges are until the day of the competition — only Tucker and his co-organizer Tiffany have that information, by design.

"We're not going to reveal those until the day of the judging," Tucker explained. "That way there's no bias."

Judging starts at noon and scoring runs through the afternoon. Winners will be announced after all categories are judged.

What does a championship mean for a small food truck owner? Tucker was direct: bragging rights for a full year. The ability to say — legitimately and publicly — that you are the best in the heartland. Every truck that competes goes home with a custom "Best of the Heartland Food Truck Championship" apron to display and be proud of. Category winners receive a trophy and championship t-shirts. And the following year, they come back to defend the title as the event grows.

For Families

The food trucks are not the only thing happening. Grace Heartland is hosting an Easter egg hunt at the fairgrounds on the same day. Bouncy houses will be set up for kids. You can do an Easter egg hunt, let the kids run around on the bounce houses, and eat from twenty-one food trucks in a single stop — all for free.

Specialty vendors will also be on site throughout the day, including sensory product vendors, 3D printing, a custom spice and seasoning maker, and others. Live music plays throughout.

Tucker's suggestion: bring a picnic table. There will be room.

The Bigger Picture

Tucker's motivation for creating this event goes beyond the competition itself. Every dollar spent at a small local food truck is money that stays in Hardin County — not going to a corporate headquarters somewhere else, not funding a third home in another country. It circulates locally, in the hands of families who built a business from scratch.

"Follow your food trucks," Tucker said when Phil asked what he wanted viewers to do after the segment ended. "Support your local businesses — especially your small businesses."

Phil and the Hardin Local crew made it clear at the end of the segment: they will be at the Hardin County Fairgrounds on March 28. Come out and see what Hardin County is made of.