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In the beginning, Burger Week was “just a blast,” recalled co-creator and co-founder Na’eem Adam. Chefs and cooks worked hard to come up with unique toppings, creative combinations abounded and fans voted on their favourites. Such fun.

It’s still fun. But as the eighth edition of Burger Week gets underway this weekend, it’s clear that the festival has grown up a bit. And now it wants to make a difference.

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As the event, which started in Montreal, grew to include dozens of establishments elsewhere in Quebec and west across the country, Adam and fellow creator and founder Thierry Rassam realized that Burger Week was about more than finding the best burger. It was also about “stimulating the economy in communities across the country as people go out and have fun,” Adam, 36, said this week.

“And so we made it our mission to stimulate business in small communities all across Canada,” he said. They encouraged chefs to develop unique burgers for the week.