Sacramento Bacon Fest that ‘took the city by storm’ is back in 2022. What’s sizzling?

Sacramento Bacon Fest is back in 2022 after the weeklong event that “took the city by storm” was put on the back burner during the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic.

For the first time since its inception, restaurant chefs Brad Cecchi and Patricio Wise are organizing the 2022 food festival, which runs May 16 to 22. Restaurants from all over the city will be holding brunches and competitions in celebration of bacon.

Local foodie Brian Guido previously ran the festival, putting on the first Sacramento Bacon Fest in 2012. The bacon lover decided to step down this year due to other commitments and give two chefs the opportunity to run the event.

Both chefs have participated in the culminating bacon cook off known as the “Guido Cup” and were named winners for their dishes. Wise won last year for his tacos de canasta — tortillas folded around melted cheese and a slice of bacon.

“As a former competing chef, this is the event of the year where you hang out with peers and friends,” Wise, owner of Nixtaco, said. “It’s work, but it’s mostly a big party around bacon. It’s a really fun event, and we are trying to continue that especially coming out of the pandemic.”

Cecchi, who runs American restaurant Canon in East Sacramento, said he hopes to give the once popular festival new life this year. The 2020 bacon festival was canceled, and in 2021, the main competition was live streamed on YouTube.

“For the large majority of its life, it was a citywide, weeklong festival that took the city by storm, and the pandemic sort of brought it back down to its roots,” Cecchi said. “Our focus is just to kind of bring it back and get everyone excited about the exposure, so that in years to come, we can continue to grow it.”

Competitions in previous years have attracted more than 150 attendees, and organizers are anticipating a crowd of around 200 for the 2022 Guido Cup.

This year’s cup will have a greater focus on those cooking the bacon-themed creations. Instead of distributing food on trays, chefs will be handing out their bites to attendees themselves this year.

“We wanted chefs to have a little more exposure to the guests that are coming to the event and be able to talk about their businesses,” Cecchi said.

The 2022 cup will also be bringing in seven new competitors who will be making their own bacon-inspired dishes, which have included tacos, curries and even fried rice in past years. The competition is at Mulvaney’s B&L at 1215 19th St. from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on May 22.

Tickets for the final event are on sale now for $75 and include drink tickets, chef bites as well as food from the venue. The event will also be pouring the winning drink from the week’s bacon-themed cocktail competition.

For more information on what restaurants are participating throughout the week, the organizers will be updating the festival’s pages on Facebook and Instagram.

Here’s how the festival works:

• Ten restaurants in the Sacramento area will be hosting events during in this year’s festival. Some events planned for the festival so far include brunch at Canon and Nixtaco, a cocktail competition at The Roost and a weeklong bacon-themed happy hour at Grange Restaurant & Bar. There is no additional cost to enter for these restaurant’s events.
  
  

• The festival’s culminating event is a cooking competition among 10 local chefs known as the Guido Cup that takes place Sunday, May 22. Admission is $75 and includes drink tickets, chef bites and food. It is taking place at Mulvaney’s B&L restaurant on 1215 19th St. from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

• For information on how to be a part of the bacon festivities, the festival’s Facebook page will be updated closer May 16 on upcoming events taking place.

This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Sacramento Bacon Fest that ‘took the city by storm’ is back in 2022. What’s sizzling?."