OHIO LOCAL CROWNED THE BEST WHOPPER® SANDWICH MAKER IN NORTH AMERICA
Burger King® Team Member Heather Gear was recently named the “Whopper Challenge” winner, taking home a $10,000 prize
Oregon, OH – Burger King Corporation held its annual Franchisee convention in Miami, FL, in early October, where six talented Burger King Team Members across North America participated in the “Whopper Challenge”, a competition to see who could create the best “Gold Standard” flame-grilled Whopper sandwich. This year, the winner hails from Oregon, Ohio. Team Member Heather Gear took home the first-place prize of $10,000.
Heather enrolled in the Whopper Challenge with a video submission, landing her in the top 10 representing the Midwest division. She then participated in an in-restaurant round where she was selected as one of the six national finalists to compete on stage at the Burger King convention. There were 2 rounds – the first was to create a classic Whopper sandwich, and the second was to create three customized Whopper sandwiches in under three minutes. The six participants were judged both on the accuracy of the sandwich and the time it took to build, laddering back to the brand’s Gold Standard Service training as part of the Reclaim the Flame plan.
“I am so excited to have won and thankful for the opportunity to compete for such a generous prize. I plan to use the money to pay for my wedding to my fiancé, who previously competed in the Whopper Challenge and only made it to the second round,” said Heather Gear, Burger King Team Member and Whopper Challenge Winner. “In my opinion, I was chosen as the winner because of the quality of my Whopper, my consistency, and calmness during the competition.”
Heather works for Bennett Management Corp, a family-owned and operated Burger King Franchisee since 1965, with 25 restaurants in the Midwest. They rank among the top 10% of Burger King operating restaurants in the U.S. and rank first in Franchisee development. Heather acknowledged her District Manager, Wendy Helfrich, who was instrumental in her guidance and development along with her Restaurant General Manager, and mom, Mariam Gear.