5th Annual Mac & Cheese Festival Raises $63,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast

The 5th Annual Mac & Cheese Festival held on Sunday, March 5, 2023, at Destin Commons was a huge success. The event raised $63,000 and welcomed roughly 1,600 attendees throughout the day. Proceeds from the event benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast, a local non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and enhance the development of boys and girls by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging, and influence through its programs focused on academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. 

"Our fifth Mac-N-Cheese Festival was a huge success and thoroughly outperformed our own expectations. We are extremely thankful to all that attended, all of our cooking participants, Destin Commons, and all of our sponsors for making this year's event amazing. Every cent raised through this event will make an impact on the over 5,000 youth we serve on an annual basis.  Our team is already working on next year’s event, we look forward to an amazing sixth year." - Shervin Rassa, Chief Executive Officer, The Boys & Girls Club of the Emerald Coast

The family-friendly event featured gourmet, chef-inspired twists on the South’s favorite comfort food. Local restaurants brought their A-game to compete for the best mac and cheese in town. Visitors were able to sample each vendor and cast their votes. There were three categories in total, Judge's Choice Award, People's Choice Award, and Kid's Choice Award.

Award winners are as follows: 
Judge's Choice: Boathouse Oyster Bar
People's Choice: Jackacuda's Seafood & Sushi 
Kid's Choice: Sauce Boss Burger Co. 
Peoples Choice Winner, Jackacuda's Seafood & Sushi (pictured)

This event was made possible by these generous sponsors: Cox, Publix Charities, Step One Automotive Group, Coastal Kitchen, Starpoint Screening, Old Bay Steamer, Emerald Coast Insurance Agency, Dairyland, SimpleHR, and WKRG


The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast is a registered IRS 501(c)3 charity whose mission is to promote and enhance the development of boys and girls by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging, and influence through its programs focused on academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. The Boys & Girls Club of the Emerald Coast receives funding from contributions, special events, grants, and major donors such as Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation and United Way agencies in Escambia and Okaloosa/Walton Counties.