Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Fudge wins prize at the county fair

Carl Sessler of Saratoga has been cooking fudge since he was 14, when he obtained his prize-winning recipe from his aunt. "It makes a good batch of fudge," Sessler said. The judges at this year's Santa Clara County Fair agreed, giving Sessler first prize. It's nothing new to Sessler, who has entered and won baking competitions at the fair for the last 15 years. "I figure that's how the fair survives," said Sessler, a Lockheed engineer. He said he also makes a mean angel food cake and cooks up a great pot of spuds. Other Saratogans winning awards were Harry Bellicitti, who took a third-place prize for his homemade zinfandel wine, and Paul Conrado, who took a second for his cabernet sauvignon. Bellicitti grows his own grapes on his 13-acre ranch at Allendale and Chester avenues. Conrado, a custom-home builder, grows grapes at several locations in Saratoga.