The Queen City Burger from Hard Rock Cafe Cincinnati Photo: Provided by Game Day PR

A worldwide burger competition has landed right here in Cincinnati.

Hard Rock Cafe is hosting its annual World Burger Tour Competition, which kicked off June 14 in celebration of the international brand’s Founder’s Day. The competition features Hard Rock Cafe chefs from around the globe competing to see who can create the best burger. Chefs had to develop unique burgers showcasing elements from their regional cultures, as well as personal tastes.

Hard Rock Cafe Cincinnati’s executive chef, Scott Donley, is taking part in the competition with The Queen City Burger, featuring fried brie cheese, beer-braised onions, a house-made blueberry-thyme sauce and hot honey. You can try Donley’s burger from now until Aug. 5. Cincinnati’s cafe is located inside the Hard Rock Casino at 1000 Broadway St. downtown.

“This is such a fun annual event where our chef gets to flex their creativity, and our guests get to try our new burger for a limited time,” Justin Wyborn, president of Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, said in a press release.

Chef, content creator and brand partner Olivia Tiedemann will join this year’s competition as a judge and mentor. She has worked closely with the chefs throughout the competition and has been sharing her culinary expertise and burger-crafting techniques to help them elevate their recipes.

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“Working with these talented chefs from around the world has been incredibly fun. Each one brought such passion and creativity to their recipes, and I’m amazed by how they’ve transformed classic burger concepts with their unique local influences and personal stories,” Tiedemann said.

The top five burgers will be selected based on Tiedemann’s input, sales performance and the public’s votes on social media. The five finalists will be announced later this summer and those burgers will be available at Hard Rock Cafe locations globally for a limited time before one winner is chosen.

Hard Rock Casino Cafe, 1000 Broadway St., Downtown. More info: cafe.hardrock.com.

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This article appears in Jun 11-24, 2025.

Katherine Barrier is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s journalism program and has nearly 10 years of experience reporting local and national news as a digital journalist. At CityBeat, she...