FIU Student Wins Big For Creating Authentic & Unique Burger

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - One lucky FIU student won a grand prize Tuesday thanks to her burger skills.

School of Hospitality and Tourism Management student Ashley Hutchinson got a big surprise when she learned she won the Red Robin's Golden Robin Contest.

Hutchinson created a delicious and one-of-a-kind burger she called the "Elote Motive" because it's inspired by elote, also known as Mexican street corn.

She describes her burger as a taste of authentic Mexican street corn between two buns. Char-grilled to medium-rare, the Elote Motive is topped with roasted corn, butter, garlic aioli sauce, cotija and parmesan cheese, jalapeños, chile powder and lime juice.

It is set to be served at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Her burger will also be featured at the Heineken Burger Bash hosted by Rachael Ray on Friday, February 21.

With a little trial and error, the future restaurateur told us she knew she had a winner.

In the end, her mouth-watering burger won her the $10,000 scholarship prize.

"I'm really excited! I'm like, 'Yes, you did it!' Like, I've done it so many times and tried so hard. I'm just proud of myself and so grateful for this opportunity," said Hutchinson. "I made this burger and I was like, 'Woah, this is it. I think this is the winning burger.' And I just prayed and hoped and here we are!"

Hutchinson is set to graduate at the end of the semester with a degree in hospitality management. Besides showcasing her burger, Hutchinson will serve as assistant to one of the event managers responsible for coordinating Goya Foods' Fun and Fit as a Family featuring Kidz Kitchen at Jungle Island. Hutchinson has volunteered for the festival for the past two years.

The Red Robin Golden Robin Contest is an annual event and is open to all FIU students. Recipes were carefully judged based on creativity, taste and unique use of ingredients.

More than 400 students submitted their dream burger recipes this year, but Hutchinson struck gold with hers.