Shoppers enjoyed a souper afternoon Saturday at the third South Side Mid-Winter Soup Contest. Braving the frigid weather, they were rewarded with warm samples of about two dozen soups made by chefs from South Side restaurants.

		Try this at home Three winning recipes from the South Side Mid-Winter Soup Contest

Customers turned out in record numbers to sip, shop and discover South Side treasures. The price for the feast -- $5 and a canned good for the Brashear Food Pantry -- was part of the lure.

The event has become a hotly contested competition between South Side chefs to win the first- or second-place Judges' Choice or People's choice awards.

It is organized by the South Side Local Development Co., not only to get more people to the area but also to help the Brashear Association feed needy residents. Its food bank serves about 350 families every month.

The panel of 13 food critics, including myself, chaired by WQED's Chris Fennimore, met at 3 p.m. at the association's building on Sarah Street and sat down to begin tasting the fragrant soups, one at a time. As Fennimore quipped to the audience, "It's a tough job, but we're used to making sacrifices."

Twenty-two soups were entered for the Judges' Choice, so we judges divided into two groups, each tasting 11 soups. The top picks from each table then were judged by the entire group to determine two winners.

While the Gypsy Strings played, the judges struggled with their score sheets (taste was worth 1-12 points; creativity 1-3 points; appeal 1-5 points).

Finally, the awards were announced:

Judges' Choice:

First place -- Wild Mushroom Soup from Dish Osteria & Bar chef Michele Savoia.

Second place -- Chicken Portobella with Roasted Red Pepper from Folino's Ristorante chef Anthony Folino.

People's Choice:

First place -- Chicken Portobella with Roasted Red Pepper, Folino's Ristorante chef Anthony Folino (who won the same award last year for his Seafood Bisque).

Second place -- Butternut Squash with Creme Fraiche, 17th Street Cafe chef Pat Joyce (the two-time past winner was a judge and thereby couldn't enter for Judges' Choice, but you can't keep a good soup-maker down).

The excited winners received spoon-decorated plaques and a large round of applause. Prizes could have easily been given to three-fourths of the soups.