competition during the East End day of tourism.

The eighth annual event was a gourmet's delight, with seven restaurants pitting their culinary skills against each other -- with the goal of being the number one soup `kitchen' on Bermuda.

Held at the venerable White Horse Tavern, over 120 tourists entered the tasting contest and their tongues eventually crowned the mushroom and mango madness concoction created by the San Giorgio restaurant, of St. George.

Placing second was Mulligan's bean soup -- spiced with an aromatic curry; Mulligan's, by the way, is newly opened at St George's Golf Club.

Coming in at third place, or a close tie for second, was another bean soup, this time from the host White Horse.

Gill Outerbridge, chairman of the East End committee of the Hospitality Professionals Association and soup-off organiser, said all the pans were slurped dry and there were many favourable comments on the culinary efforts.

"The visitors said how much they appreciated it,'' she said. "I thought it was a wonderful success, we had great support from the HPA and town constable -- E. Michael Jones -- who rang his bell.'' Other notable enterants were a red-beet potage from the Carriage House, smoked shrimp from Bouchee, and corn chowder and lobster bisque, both from the Wharf Tavern.