水果派AV

His business, Tonzi's Catering Company of Auburn, was one of 17 entrants in the New York State Fair's Taste NY Food Truck Competition Saturday. The awards were scheduled to be announced at 7:30 p.m. at Chevy Court, the fair's main concert venue.聽

Ten minutes prior to the start of the ceremony, Tonzi unsuccessfully tried to get on stage with his fellow competitors. He was told by a security guard that the band scheduled to play at Chevy Court later in the evening would be going on stage next.聽

Tonzi retreated before making another attempt. On the second try, he was successful. He was the last food truck operator on stage.聽

Moments later, he learned that Tonzi's won the Judges' Choice and People's Choice awards. It's the first time in the three-year history of the fair's food truck competition that an entrant received both awards.聽

"I couldn't believe they announced our name," Tonzi said in a phone interview Saturday.聽

Tonzi and his wife, Michelle, attended the food truck competition in 2015 and last year. Friends encouraged them to enter and this year, Michael Tonzi explored the opportunity and submitted an application.聽

Tonzi's winning entry was the bacon jalapeno macaroni and cheese fritter. The dish was a twist on the catering company's popular macaroni and cheese fritters, which are usually served at graduation parties and other special events.聽

The fritters were topped with bacon and chipotle sauce. Jalapeno pickle relish was served on the side.聽

"It was well-received," Tonzi said. "We made sure that they could add their own heat by putting stuff on the side. Honestly, I was shocked. We thought it would go well and we knew it was a little different than a lot of the stuff we had seen. But we were very heavy with the sales and people were happy all day and saying how good it was. But I never envisioned us winning both awards."聽

A key to Tonzi's success was the truck's customer service strategy. Tonzi said he heard from past food truck competition attendees who mentioned that long lines were a challenge. Lines would form at trucks and people would go elsewhere if they didn't want to wait.聽

To limit wait times Saturday, Tonzi deployed family and friends who wore bright green shirts. The team would collect money for the $3 fritter samples or $1 bottles of water. In exchange, they would give customers an orange ticket for the fritter or a blue ticket for a bottle of water. Customers would proceed to the truck to get the beverage or sample they purchased.聽

"We never had a line today," Tonzi said. "We had people maybe in line waiting but there wasn't a minute today we didn't have an order and we didn't have people waiting or walking away, so it worked out well."聽

The catering company is a part-time venture for Michael Tonzi, who's a cook at Auburn Correctional Facility. He previously worked for 24 years at Sunset Restaurant in Auburn. Michelle Tonzi, who Michael described as "the backbone to everything I do," is employed as a paralegal in Syracuse.聽

After the successful showing in the fair food truck competition, could Tonzi's Catering Company become a full-time operation? Michael Tonzi didn't rule it out.聽

"It's always a dream that it would," he said. "Maybe if I was 10 years younger it would. But who knows? Anything can happen. I would love it to. We enjoy doing it. We've had success and this is a big honor."聽