This summer, the most serious competition in Raleigh isn’t on the court — it’s in the bowl.
While the prize isn’t cash or a trophy, a record deal or reality TV contract, the winner of Sassool’s annual Hummus Mix-Off takes home something arguably more valuable: the knowledge that their hummus — their recipe, their ratios, their obsessive fine-tuning of ingredients — has been declared the best in the room by people who really, truly care about these things.
From 52 entries to five finalists to one winner, the community-centric Hummus mix-off proves that the Triangle takes its hummus very seriously.
Now in its eighth year, the mix-off has become one of the more anticipated food events on the local calendar. It’s a celebration that is one part friendly competition, one part community gathering, and one part love letter to a dish that has featured on the Sassool table since the family owned and operated restaurant opened its doors in 2014. Open to the public, this year’s mix-off will be held August 8 from 3–5 p.m.
Marketing Director Simone Lawson traces the idea back to the cultural moment when competitive cooking shows became popular. “We wanted a way to create some hype or excitement around our food and get the community involved,” she says. “We wanted it to be something exciting like a competition where people are bringing new ideas and no one is creating the same recipe.”
As one of Sassool’s staple items, hummus was the perfect canvas.
The event has evolved considerably since its first year, when Sassool reached out to a small circle of local chefs: people they admired, Mediterranean cooks in their network, and culinary friends willing to step away from their own kitchens for an afternoon. Eight competitors took part.
2025 winner Chris Hoover hands out his smoked
maple hummus to Mix-Off guests.
By year two, the format had already shifted. Pulling working chefs away from their restaurants was a significant ask, so instead they invited local food bloggers and influencers. The decision to host social media personalities was twofold, Simone explains, “because we highlighted them, we posted about them, we had their social media handles available at their tables. But also, they were passionate about food, so for them to be asked to make a recipe that could be featured … it was really cool.”
That chapter lasted three years. Then, four years ago, Sassool welcomed anyone who was a fan, who saw the competition on social media, or who had an idea and a blender. The result was that entries rose from a dozen to 52. Welcoming everyone, Simone says, “has created even more hype around the event, more interest, and more flavors.”
The competition format has matured into two rounds, where judges evaluate all submissions in a semifinal round and narrow the field to five recipes. Then the community takes over, sampling the contenders and casting their votes. It’s a democratic and spirited process, which is exactly as it should be given the Sassool spirit.
Over the years, the winning flavors read like a delicious argument for culinary imagination. A roasted beet hummus that wowed as much with its color as its taste. A deeply savory mushroom caramelized onion. An herb hummus topped with house-made tomato jam. A spicy sweet potato that balanced heat and earthiness.
Chefs, neighbors, foodies, and home cooks are all united by a shared bowl and a strong opinion.
And then there was the basil pistachio. “I’ve never had pistachios in hummus,” Simone admits, “but man, does it work.” Perhaps the most unexpected winner was a dessert hummus that stopped everyone in their tracks. “It was called the Sahara Dessert Hummus, and it tasted like chai,” Simone says.
After the judges narrow down the entries to five finalists, the public is invited to vote for the winner.
Not every adventurous entry lands, of course. When it comes to what separates a good hummus from a great one, Simone says freshness matters and creaminess is “very, very, very, very important.” But the defining quality is more philosophical than technical. “What makes it a great hummus is that you don’t forget you’re eating hummus,” she says.
For all the creativity the mix-off celebrates, Sassool’s foundation remains unchanged. The traditional hummus on the menu is a cherished family recipe. “So many people have come to me even before knowing it was my grandmother’s recipe, saying, ‘You guys have the absolute best hummus in town,’” Simone says. “People will come from the grocery store and say, ‘I just finished shopping, but I had to come by just to get a container of hummus. Because we can’t get the hummus anywhere else the way yours tastes.’”
Simone credits her grandmother’s extraordinary palate for that loyalty. “She had such a balanced palate. She really had it to a science where one flavor was not overwhelming the other. Every one really complemented the others. And it shows.”
That legacy is precisely what makes the mix-off, beyond the competition itself, so meaningful. Promoting hummus in a way that welcomes everyone — not just Lebanese and Mediterranean diners, or food insiders, but the whole community — feels like an extension of what her grandmother understood intuitively: This food brings people together.
“The whole idea of hummus and any other mezze dish is that community aspect,” Simone says. “You’re sharing it with others. You’re sitting. You’re having face-to-face interaction with people, which is so unique these days. … It’s gold.”
And despite all mix-off participants receiving rewards, with added exclusive opportunities for the five finalists, the winning recipe doesn’t disappear when the event ends. In addition to media exposure — and, of course, bragging rights — each year’s champion is featured in Sassool’s case as a special for the following month, meaning that even guests who never competed get to taste what the community chose.
Simone envisions the mix-off eventually outgrowing the restaurant walls with a larger venue, an outdoor setting, more entries, more votes … more of everything. “We’re never short of ideas,” she says, “and I think we can just continue to make it bigger, better, more fun, more community engagement, and just continue this celebration around Mediterranean food.”
For now, though, the eighth annual Hummus Mix-Off is exactly what it has always been at its core: an open invitation to share your best hummus recipe in a setting where it will be savored.
sassool.com
@sassoolcafe
Each finalist brings their unique hummus flavor for guests to sample.
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