These are the 5 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

Texas grocery chain H-E-B is nearing the end of its search for the next crop of Texas-made products to hit the shelves, with 10 newly revealed finalists.

Its
Quest for Texas Best competition is now in its 11th year of engaging small businesses to find the best of their products, in return for $70,000 in cash prizes and the overall winner will be stocked in H-E-B stores.

For the 2024 competition, a release says, H-E-B received more than 16 hours of video from 470 entrepreneurs. Although submissions came in from more than 118 cities, the finalists come from just six places, with Dallas and Austin taking multiple spots. Ultimately, four products will win tiered prizes.

The finalists cover lots of ground, from regional and international specialties to improvements on common staples.

In Dallas, where the Quest is based, four companies go head-to-head:

• Encina: the New American restaurant in Oak Cliff and the only restaurant on the list, contributes its popular blue corn butterscotch pancake mix
• HydroNation: electrolyte-rich sports drinks made with all-natural ingredienta
• Marasi Foods: frozen naan pockets packed with enough ingredients to constitute a full meal
• Sarape Treats: candy coated in chamoy paste and spice mix

H-E-B is also calling BeeKing’s Honey Dust, a sweetener from a company in Canton, a “Dallas” finalist, but Dallasites would probably view that as a bit of a stretch.

The 2024 winners will be selected on August 9 at Dallas’ Fair Park, when a panel of judges awards $25,000 to a grand prize winner with distribution via H-E-B.

Three more prizes will be awarded: $20,000 to first-place winner; $15,000 to a second-place winner, and $10,000 to a third-place winner.

The 2023 winner
was a Houston-based business called PhoLicious, which won the grand prize for its instant pho.

“Small businesses drive innovation and keep our communities vibrant, which is why we are dedicated to finding and supporting the best small businesses in Texas,” said James Harris, senior director of diversity & inclusion and supplier diversity for H-E-B. “We are amazed year after year by the creative products submitted for the competition and look forward to making these inventive products available to our shoppers.”

The 2024 H-E-B Quest for Texas Best finalists are:

• BeeKing’s – Honey Dust – Canton
• Birria Queen – Birria Seasoning Bombs – Austin
• Certified Country Lemonade – Frozen Lemonade & Sweet Tea – Austin
• Encina – Blue Corn Butterscotch Pancake Mix – Dallas
• Hess Street Foods – Chorizo seasoning paste – Utopia
• HydroNation – Natural Sports Drinks – Dallas
• La Pale Frozen Fruit Bar – Mini Frozen Paletas – Brownsville
• Marasi Foods – Frozen Filled Naan Bread – Dallas (Allen)
• Sarape Treats – Chamoy Candy – Dallas
• Texas Rice Milling ~ Home of Honestly Texas – Rice – Brookshire

More information about the contestants and product listings from past winners are available at
heb.com.