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In JJ Johnson's mind, everyone believes they make a better burger than the next guy or gal, and that idea is behind Esquire Network's new competition series "The Next Great Burger." "The burger, we feel, kind of makes us who we are," explains the New York-based chef and restaurateur. "Anybody can make a burger but making a great burger is a different thing." Premiering Wednesday, July 22, the series pits three contestants in what amounts to a burger-cooking contest. In the first round, hosts Johnson and Owen Benjamin sample the cuisine and eliminate one chef. The remaining two then square off against each other with the crowd sampling the fare and determining the outcome. The winner gets $25,000 and the distinction of having created "The Next Great Burger." And these burgers are not limited to just beef. Some contestants used ground pork, others ground chorizo (Portuguese sausage) and one drizzled a lobster bearnaise sauce over the top of his creation. And then, of course, there was something called "the energy burger," which was based on an energy shake. "(The contestant) then created that and put it on the burger," Johnson says, "so he did like blueberry, mayonnaise, spinach – all these crazy ingredients that went in the blender that he would drink after he worked out, he then threw that on top of his burger." Factoring into the action is the beer-fired crowd, which not only judges the creations and determines the winners but also interacts with the chefs and hosts on stage. And that can prove distracting. "You'll see people forget to season their burger meat because this hot girl was standing in front of them and he's trying to impress her," Johnson says. "Or the crowds are chanting back and forth because the left side of the room really loves Marvin's burger and the right side of the room is really loving this girl that's killing it doing things that they never saw before. So you have this effect of the crowd that also plays a major role in how people cook. "It's like an arena," he continues. "The funniest part about it, you would see this nerdy guy behind there just cooking a burger and this hot blond chick with blue eyes talking to him and he would just lose track. And I would say to Owen, 'You see? I told you the crowd's a factor.' " JJ Johnson BY GEORGE DICKIE ESQUIRE series goes in search of 'The Next Great Burger' What book are you currently reading? "I'm actually reading (Sean Brock's cookbook) 'Heritage.' " What did you have for dinner last night? "I was in the line at the restaurant. I had our pan-roasted halibut with our citrus jerk, fonio and celery root puree." What is your next project? "Cookingwise, it would be doing James Beard's Chefs & Champagne in July. And the next project that I've been working on is I just became the chef at our sister restaurant Minton's ... ." When was the last vacation you took, where and why? "The last vacation I took, I went to Belize. The last culinary vacation I took I was cooking in Ghana ... ." Page 8 July 20 - 26, 2015 • Carpet • Vinyl • Ceramic Mon.-Fri. 8-5 • Sat. 9-1 65669 US 33 East • Goshen 642-4770 TOLL FREE 1-877-642-4770 Area's Largest Selection of Remnants Large Inventory of Carpet, Laminate, Vinyl, and Luxury Vinyl Tiles! Fresh, Ripe, Delicious Local Blueberries Kercher's ... the name you've trusted for 93 years. Mon.-Fri. 9am-5:30pm • Sat. 9am-4pm • Closed Sundays GOSHEN, IN • 533-6311 1/2 Mile West of SR 15 on CR 38 at the Orchard www.kerchersorchard.com Sweet Corn, Green Beans, & Cherries We also have Lodi Apples! OEC Super Buffet 4024 Elkhart Rd Goshen IN 46526 Tel: 574-875-1298 Elk Lunch Monday-Friday 11am-3pm Adult $7.25 Children 2 years old $1.99 3-6 years old $3.50 7-10 years old $5.00 *Saturday Lunch $7.75 Dinner Monday-Friday 3pm-9:30 pm Adult $10.75 Children 2 years old $2.99 3-6 years old $4.50 7-10 years old $6.00 *Sunday Dinner Price ALL DAY $10.75 SENIOR DISCOUNT 10% PRICE The Elkhart County Fair starts Friday, July 24 Stop out and visit us at our Booth We are proud sponsors of Veterans Day at the Fair

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