Stir Crazy: Swansea man’s chowder is Soup-er winner

From one neighbor to another, Todd Herzog shared his Seafood Chowder last November and was rewarded with bragging rights. He won the annual Soup-er Bowl contest in his Swansea neighborhood of Stonefield Crossing.

Todd is 57 and works at Scott Air Force Base in the Strategic Plans, Policy and Requirements Division. He was among eight contestants who concocted homemade soup and shared with 56 neighbors who came by for samples.

“The Seafood Chowder recipe is one of my favorites that I don’t make as often as I’d like,” Todd said. “I was lucky to obtain it from a good neighbor when I lived in Summerville, S.C., a stone’s throw from Charleston.”

It’s a heavenly place to eat seafood, which accounts for all the luscious lobster, fish, scallops and shrimp in the recipe.

Residents sampled and voted. At the end of the day, the ballots were collected by event organizer Arla Chevess, who did the tallying and announced the winner.

It’s Todd’s third year entering the contest. His red apron has 2013 and 2014 embroidered in black thread on the front, with 2015 in gold newly added. That’s Arla Chevess’ doing. Contestants get their year of participation stitched in black by her on their aprons. Gold thread represent a winner year.

“I’ll be proud to wear it for the 2016 Soup-er Bowl,” said Todd. It’s set for Nov. 6.

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 3:53 AM with the headline "Stir Crazy: Swansea man’s chowder is Soup-er winner."