Guy Fieri set to sizzle at Baconfest

Everything is better with bacon, including festivals.

That’s the thinking behind the new Baconfest, a bacon-themed extravaganza from Dell’Osso Family Farm for Father’s Day weekend Saturday and Sunday, June 18-19. The people behind the annual Pumpkin Maze, Holidays at the Farm and Mud Run in Lathrop, have launched a new event and are hoping for tasty results.

“Everyone loves bacon. Bacon is probably America’s most favorite food right now. We couldn’t have chosen a better focus,” said Dell’Osso Family Farm co-owner Susan Dell’Osso.

To ensure the new festival gets off to a crackling start, celebrity chef Guy Fieri has been brought in to headline as emcee of its two-day cooking competition. The Food Network star will host the cook-off, which will feature both amateur and professional competitions.

Dell’Osso said bringing in the popular host of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and “Guy’s Grocery Games” has brought a lot of excitement to the first-time event. Fieri, who came to Modesto in January to film episodes of his popular food travel series, will appear on the main stage from noon to 1:15 p.m. and from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. both days.

“We said if we’re going to do this, we’d better go big. That’s when we decided on Guy Fieri. He is the epitome of a bacon festival,” Dell’Osso said.

Still, the all-ages event has more to offer than just a visit from the mayor of Flavortown. Baconfest bills itself as two days of bacon, beer and bands.

To prepare, Dell’Osso said they have installed 8 acres of grass on its grounds. The festival will be held in the new grassy areas, with plenty of shade structures, and Bacon Alley with vendors selling bacon delicacies of all kinds. Beer from more than 20 microbreweries will also be available for purchase. Signature offerings will include deep-fried bacon and a bacon-flavored bloody mary.

Cooking and educational demonstrations will be held both days centered around, of course, bacon. Headlining bands include country act Trick Pony on Saturday and Latin Grammy winner Little Joe Y La Familia on Sunday.

The main stage cook-off will feature amateur cooks on Saturday and professional cooks from across the country Sunday. Contestants will take part in a mystery basket cooking competition. The top prize for the amateur is $3,000 and for the professional a trip to Napa and dinner for two at the world-famous French Laundry restaurant.

In between the finalist rounds, the festival will have a bacon-eating contest featuring both amateur and professional eaters hosted by the people who put on the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Dell’Osso is no stranger to special events. For more than 20 years the farm has hosted Halloween and fall-themed attractions, and then in 2009 it expanded to add a zipline, train and slide. Since then the farm has hosted a holiday amusement center with sledding, ice skating and more.

Organizers hope to turn Baconfest into another one of Dell’Osso’s annual events.

“There haven’t been a lot of new festivals. This is a totally new thing,” she said. “It’s music and beer. We just decided to go really big. Hence the bacon.”

This story was originally published June 14, 2016 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Guy Fieri set to sizzle at Baconfest."