Iowa Pork Producers Association seeks nominations for Iowa’s Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin contest

Whose pork tenderloin makes you squeal the most? Now is your time to let the judges know.

The Iowa Pork Producers Association is once again opening its annual contest for Iowa’s Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin to nominations from the public.

Nominations for the 23rd annual contest are open until June 1. Tenderloin lovers can submit nominations, whether it’s a small town café or a local go-to spot, to give their favorite restaurant the recognition they deserve.

And, if your nomination takes the crown, you could win $100.

“Restaurants should definitely be paying attention to this contest and encouraging nominations from their customers if they haven’t in the past,” said Denise Wiley, chairwoman of the Restaurant & Foodservice Committee at the Iowa Pork Producers Association. “Testimonials from past restaurant winners and even Top 5 qualifiers have proven Iowans’ love for breaded pork tenderloins and have reported selling five to 10 times more tenderloins than their average.”

To qualify, restaurants must serve a hand-breaded pork tenderloin sandwich as a regular menu item and have consistent, year-round hours open to the public. Food trucks, seasonal restaurants and catering businesses are not eligible.

After nominations, the association will narrow entries down to 40 restaurants — five from each of its eight districts across the state. Then, undercover judges will test each sandwich and score finalists based on meat quality, flavor, appearance and overall taste.

In 2023, more than 9,000 nominations came from 774 restaurants.

In October, the top five will be revealed during National Pork Month. The winning restaurant will earn a $500 prize, a plaque and bragging rights to the best quintessential Iowa dish in the state.

A Corridor restaurant has not won the contest since 2020, when PrairieMoon on Main in Prairieburg took the title. Monticello restaurants Market at the Tap and Blind Pig both made the top five list last year.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.

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