Best of the Heartland Food Truck Championship 2026 — Full Recap

Key Takeaways

• The 1st Annual Best of the Heartland Food Truck Championship was held Saturday, March 28, 2026 at the Hardin County Fairgrounds in Glendale — 21 competing food trucks, organized by Russell and Tiffany Tucker
• Britten and Rachel Brantingham served as blind judges on the panel, scoring 150+ dishes over 4.5 hours on a 100-point scale (Presentation, Smell, Taste, Texture — 25 points each)
• Seven food trucks took home titles across 10 categories — Bussin Bites, The Sweet and Salty Co., Franklin Smoke Shack and Grill, Lydora's Sweet Treats, Snow Dogs Food Truck, Contreras Eatz, and Sunny Girl's Cafe
• Dish of the day: Lydora's caramel apple cheesecake — scored a 99 by Britten, described as the softest, creamiest, and lightest cheesecake he had ever tasted
• Britten's prediction: "In three to five years, this will be a nationally known event"

Summary

On Saturday, March 28, 2026, the Hardin County Fairgrounds in Glendale, Kentucky hosted the 1st Annual Best of the Heartland Food Truck Championship — 21 food trucks, one blind judging panel, and over 150 individual plates scored across a 4.5-hour event organized by Russell and Tiffany Tucker. Hardin Local's own Britten and Rachel Brantingham were among the panel of judges, and they brought the full inside account to S2026E14.

The judging format was completely blind. Plates came out numbered with no identifying information about the truck or the dish. Britten, Rachel, and their fellow judges scored each plate on four categories — Presentation, Smell, Taste, and Texture — 25 points each for a possible 100. Britten's personal range across the day: a low of 80, a high of 99. The level of food coming out of those trucks was, by every account, remarkable.

By the end of a long afternoon of eating, both judges were feeling it. Rachel described herself as a woman who would "never be hungry again." Britten got the sweats. But the consensus was clear: what happened at the Hardin County Fairgrounds that Saturday was something special — and both Britten and Rachel came away believing the rest of the country is going to find out about it.

Full Article

This is not a standard Experienced Eater episode. No restaurant. No table for two. No one menu to evaluate. This week, Britten and Rachel Brantingham walked into a full-scale food truck championship, picked up their scoring sheets, and got to work.

The 1st Annual Best of the Heartland Food Truck Championship took place on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at the Hardin County Fairgrounds in Glendale, Kentucky. Twenty-one food trucks lined up and competed for the title. The event ran from noon to 4:30 PM and was organized by Russell and Tiffany Tucker, who had previewed it on the show two weeks earlier during S2026E12. What Tucker didn't mention at the time — because it hadn't been announced publicly — was that two of Hardin Local's own hosts were going to be on the judging panel.

Phil introduced the segment on S2026E14 to let Rachel participate as a guest alongside Britten rather than host it. "Two of our very own — Britten and Rachel Brantingham — were on the panel of judges," he told the audience. "They got to do blind tastings, judge the food trucks, and crown the champions."

The blind judging format was exactly what it sounds like. Plates arrived with a number and nothing else — no truck name, no menu description, no context. Each dish was scored on a 100-point scale across four categories: Presentation (25), Smell (25), Taste (25), and Texture (25). Britten's scores across 150-plus plates ranged from a low of 80 to a high of 99. "The highest dish I had was a 99," he said on air. "The lowest I had was an 80."

Let that sink in. The lowest score in a field of 21 trucks, across 150 dishes, over an entire afternoon, was an 80 out of 100. The quality floor at this event was extraordinary.

The 99 went to a caramel apple cheesecake from Lydora's Sweet Treats, LLC. Britten described it as "the softest, creamiest, lightest" cheesecake he had encountered. Rachel agreed. Both of them — independently — went back after judging wrapped and bought cupcakes and whole cheesecakes from Lydora's to bring home to their families. That is not something judges are required to do. That is what happens when the food earns it.

The most creative title went to The Sweet and Salty Co. for a dish that drew an almost speechless reaction from Britten on air: Kerwokkels — a type of truffle — served with pistachio spread. "Absolutely nuts," he said. "It was wild." The Sweet and Salty Co. also took Best Drink, sweeping two categories. And a snow cone served in a traffic cone — from whoever put that together — earned a perfect 25 points on presentation alone. You do not score a 25 on presentation with a snow cone without doing something right.

Bussin Bites Food Truck took home two titles as well, winning both Best Sandwich and Best Burger. After the segment aired, Bussin Bites left a long thank-you comment on the livestream. Franklin Smoke Shack and Grill, LLC dominated the protein categories, taking Best BBQ and Best Chicken. Snow Dogs Food Truck claimed Best Hot Dog, which included a kimchi preparation that Britten noted was not something he personally eats — but judged it on execution. "Did they execute it correctly? And they did." Contreras Eatz won Best Fries. And Sunny Girl's Cafe walked away with Best Looking Food Truck.

Rachel, for her part, came in with full enthusiasm and slightly miscalibrated pacing. Tucker warned her early to slow down — 4.5 hours of competitive eating is a marathon, not a sprint. She did not heed the warning with enough discipline. By the time the afternoon ended, she rolled out of the fairgrounds. "I after I left, I thought I would never be hungry again," she said. A post-event encounter with Michele backed this up — Rachel was compared, affectionately, to someone fresh off Thanksgiving. Britten got the sweats. Rachel said she felt better seeing Britten struggling too. Misery and excellence, shared.

Beyond the food, both Britten and Rachel came away struck by what the Tucker family had pulled off for a first-year event. The logistics, the venue, the organization — it all landed. Viewer Raymond summed it up in the comments: "The true champion was Russell and Tiffany Tucker."

Britten was direct about where he thinks this is going: "People don't believe me when I tell them how good the food scene is here in Hardin County. I predict that this will be an event — in three to five years this will be a nationally known event." Coming from someone who scored 150 plates and landed his lowest at 80, that is not an empty prediction. It is a well-fed, very informed opinion.

For anyone who missed the championship on Saturday — the winning trucks are out there. Seek them out. They earned those titles the hard way, one numbered plate at a time.