A competition featuring the best of Colorado produce will launch at the Colorado State Fair later this month.

The inaugural “Governor’s Plate” competition will be held at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 31, at the PB&T Bank Pavilion on the Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo.

Five competitor food trucks will partner with Colorado Proud, the state’s marketing program that promotes Colorado produce, to select Colorado-grown ingredients, including the Pueblo chile, to incorporate in their dishes. The five are: What’s Cooking (Pueblo), Double D’s BBQ Shack (Pueblo), Papa Mario’s Grilled Cheese (Pueblo), Downtown Fingers (Denver), and Eskimo Bros. Nitro Ice Cream (Denver). According to the governor’s office, each business must prepare two appetizer-sized items for 200 guests.

“Colorado is a strong leader in producing delicious, healthy locally raised and grown food,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Tuesday. “The Governor’s Plate puts a spotlight on our state’s incredible agricultural products. I’m thrilled to kick off this competition that will showcase our state’s talented chefs using Colorado’s homegrown ingredients.”

In addition to the “Governor’s Plate,” a “People’s Choice” award will be given for any single plate. The highest number of combined votes for both dishes will earn the “Best Truck” award.

The governor gets a private tasting and will select the winner of the Governor’s Plate.

Tickets for the Governor’s Plate event are $10 for food tasting of 10 food samples (two from each truck) and $20 for food tasting and two beer tickets (available to attendees 21 and older). Attendees will vote for their favorite dish and the winners will be announced at 7 p.m. J-Calvin, a musical group from Durango, will be the featured entertainment slated to perform after the awards ceremony until 9 p.m. 

The competition is inspired by the Governor’s Cup, a Colorado winemaking competition exclusively for Colorado wineries, to be held Aug. 13-15 at Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Hospitality Learning Center. The judges’ panel includes sommeliers, chefs, writers and wine experts. A public wine tasting is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 5 at the History Colorado Center.