The winner of a “Bone Appetit” dog food competition Monday in Somerville will be no surprise to anyone with a dog: Beating out dishes and products designed just for the canine diet was a meal meant for people – in this case, salmon and cream cheese on housemade minibagels from Zaftigs Delicatessen in Brookline.
“I wasn’t even thinking about what should we do that’s specific for dogs. I was thinking about what do we serve in the restaurant that dogs can eat?” said Evan Shuman, general manager of Zaftigs, after his win. “How fun to have food that both you and the dogs can eat.”
The “Battle of the Bites” competition, held by Tandem Vet at the Somernova complex, brought together four food-making competitors, three dogs to test the goods and three celebrity judges to watch their reactions and gauge the dishes’ presentation and creativity: WBZ reporter and Instagram sensation Matt Shearer, content creator and former newscaster Alaina Pinto and Juliana Pasquarosa, winner of “The Bachelor” this year. Comedian Joe Fenti was emcee.
The just-opened Tandem put the event together in just three weeks as a benefit to Last Hope K9 Rescue, a nonprofit that finds homes in Greater Boston to foster abandoned, neglected and abused dogs and rescue them from high-kill shelters in Central Arkansas. The Battle of the Bites helped Last Hope publicize its mission and raise money from among participants and roughly two dozen attendees, publicist Max Berkowitz said.
As a DJ spun high-energy music, Fenti brought out the human judges – with Shearer leaping exuberantly over a railing and row of chairs – and then the dogs: Sammy, walked by Tandem co-owner and recent Cambridge City Council candidate Elizabeth Bisio; Kallie, walked by Kristen Phelan; and Rodan, walked by Samantha Prado.
Then came the chefs: Aaron Lhamon of Troquet in South Boston (serving Ro-Ro’s Rewards of beef, duck liver, sweet potato, blueberries and potato starch); Shuman of Zaftigs; and Sarah McManus of Dog Eat Cake (serving After Party Pawty cupcakes of pumpkin, apples, eggs, flour, honey, peanut butter and cinnamon). Berkowitz – who did a handstand flip upon coming out to match Shearer’s energy – presented Bark Bites (with chicken breast, carrots, celery, cilantro and turmeric) from Deep Foods, a maker of packaged Indian food. Sally’s Apizza of Dorchester intended to participate with Os à Moelle, stuffed marrow bone with carrot, pumpkin and dehydrated chicken, but a last-minute problem forced it to drop out, Berkowitz said.
The bagels were snuffled up instantly; Ro-Ro’s Rewards were enjoyed by the three dogs – certainly Rodan was used to them, as Rodan is the Ro-Ro that Lhamon created them for; the cupcakes were licked and nibbled appreciatively; and the Bark Bites were wolfed down by Rodan but sniffed at and declined with a kind of stiff horror by Kallie.
“Every competition needs a Simon Cowell,” Fenti said.
“No one maybe realizes this is by the same chef they have at the Olive Garden – called a microwave,” Shearer quipped of Bark Bites. He also admitted that if the dish were packaged for humans and sold at Trader Joe’s, “I would 100 percent buy this, probably eat it and not even care that it’s actually dog food. So I’m impressed.”
The human judges conferred weightily over their decisions, which were revealed by fancy cards printed with the numerals from 7 to 10, the range they could award. The Bark Bites scored 22; the Ro-Ro’s Rewards, 24; After Party Pawty cupcakes, 27; and Zaftigs’ bagels won with a perfect 30.
“I honestly did not get a good glimpse of what it even was, because they ate it so quickly,” Pinto said of the bagels.
The hope is that the Bone Appetit competition will grow over time to include more restaurants whose owners see what fun it is, said Berkowitz, Bisio and Tandem chief executive Prem Sharma. In the meantime, there are other get-togethers coming from Tandem, starting with a Christmas lights-style cat tour, a free 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday walk that follows the example of cities such as Minneapolis and Toronto.
“Pets are part of families. You see so many activities for kids when you’re parents, and we’re just trying to create that kind of community engagement where people can meet around their pets and be part of some very fun events,” Sharma said.
If it feels new for Cambridge and Somerville, you’re not alone. The Battle of the Bites took even some of its participants by surprise.
Fenti, who got the emcee gig because he knew a Tandem staffer, said he was more than game – “Who doesn’t love a good dog treat bakeoff?” – but has encountered nothing like it in his career as a stand-up and show producer. “I’ve hosted a South Boston bachelor-bachelorette show, I’ve hosted a speed dating show and a series of fake Ted Talks when I was at school,” Fenti said. “But I’m always down for a new challenge. It seemed like a lot of fun.”
Yulia Dubrovensky, a Boston University junior, came to the Battle of the Bites from her apartment in Brighton, and brought along her father, visiting from New Jersey. It would delight her if Tandem keeps hosting such fun things to do, she said.
“I’m going to spread the word,” said Dubrovensky, who searches for events to share with fellow students. “This was really great way to just relax and keep your mind off of things.”
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