Within 5 minutes of our latest television episode airing yesterday (Sundays, 11:30am WTOC-TV) a text popped in to my phone. It was from a friend congratulating Eat It and Like It on the quality of the list of Foodie Award winners for 2019. There was also a 2nd message from another telling me that they thought breaking Savannah and The Low Country into separate categories was a great move.
Of course, we appreciate the feedback. Much like a football coach who just finished wrapping up a recruiting class, they love their guys. We love our winners, or….they wouldn’t be our winners.
That said, it got me thinking about our Foodie Awards process and what it is that makes ours different. I’ll share a quick story:
Last Saturday (Easter weekend) I popped in for a quick bite to eat at a spot that won a Foodie Award this year. First time winner. What that means is we don’t know the owners. We had to track down an email address to notify them. We just know that we’ve eaten there and loved what they do.
While I am enjoying dinner with my wife, one of the owners approaches me and asks “Are you Jesse?”
‘Yes, I am.” I said.
“Hey, man I just wanted to thank you for the award. We really appreciate it!”
“Absolutely our pleasure. You guys are doing a great job.” I said.
At that point, realizing he was a first time winner, I took a moment to explain the fact that there were no strings attached to our awards. I told him he and a guest were invited to a party where they collect their trophy and enjoy an evening courtesy of Eat It and Like It.
“Really?” he asked.
Yes. Really.
“That’s great” he said “Sometimes with some other awards around here, someone else comes around asking about buying an ad.”
“Nope. Never have. Never will.” I said. “You won because we felt you were the best in the category. Period”
If you’ve followed our awards (now in our 5th year) then you know that’s the M-O. We pick what we believe to be the best in food for a given year and present them with a trophy and invite them to a party. Period. A party, by the way that you are invited to.
We think that is what makes ours a true “best.” Our opinion of what is the best, of course, but that’s all we are claiming it to be anyway. The good thing about that is that you trust Eat It and Like It to point you in the right direction many more times than not.
I’m damn proud of that. Just wanted to share. No strings attached.
CLICK HERE to see a list of 2019 winners.
See you on TV
Jesse
