Avocado festival’s guacamole champion

Nearly 100,000 people showed up for the 27 th annual California Avocado Festival in Carpinteria over the weekend.

It’s one of the largest free music festivals in California with over 75 acts on four stages. One of the highlights of the weekend was the World’s Best Guacamole competition.

Over in the “Guac and Roll” tent on Sunday, the competition was fierce. Some of the best guacamole makers in Santa Barbara county participated.

NewsChannel 3’s John Palminteri, Shirin Rajaee and Alan Rose were part of the panel of judges, and critiqued 15 entries for their presentation, taste and texture.

After about two hours of tasting, the first-place winner Cherisse Kirkendall, now a three-time champion, was announced.

Kirkendall said she keeps her guacamole simple by adding tomato, onion, garlic, and lime. The creativity was in her presentation with Oscar the grouch.