Eight Temecula Valley restaurants will fire up their grills Saturday when the Battle of the Burgers competition returns to Pechanga Resort Casino.

The fundraiser, now in its fifth year, has raised about $30,000 over the past three years for the Temecula Valley Unified School District's Career Technical Education (CTE) culinary arts program, according to Jenni Huter, CTE work-based learning facilitator for the district. Huter spoke to the Press Enterprise for an Oct. 7 article on the event.

The competition runs noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, in the Summit C Ballroom at Pechanga, 45000 Pechanga Parkway. Tickets start at $40 pre-sale and $30 for students through the ticketing platform GoFan. Last year's event sold out at more than 400 tickets and raised more than $12,000 for the CTE program.

Temecula Mayor Jessica Alexander will join a five-judge panel that includes Fielding Buck of the Southern California News Group/Riverside Press-Enterprise, Joel Greene of IE Explorer, San Diego Union-Tribune dining critic Pam Kragen and Priscilla Tapia of Temecula Foodies, according to Visit Temecula Valley's announcement. Tapia is judging for the third consecutive year.

"Those were flavors I never would have thought to put together, but somehow they worked so well," Tapia told the Press Enterprise, recalling last year's entries.

The competing restaurants are Corkfire, Crush & Brew/Archive, Ebullition Brew Works Pub & Grill, Hendo's Barrel House, Mad Madeline's Grill, Pinnacle at Falkner Winery, The Breakfast Club of Temecula, and The Gambling Cowboy, according to the event page. Judges will pick the top three burgers. Winners agree to keep their winning burger on the menu through the rest of the year, according to Norma Marlowe, director of public relations for Visit Temecula Valley.

High school culinary arts students will also compete in a loaded fries category, cooking alongside Pechanga Executive Chef Andre Pinto and his team. Chef-student teams vie for both a Judges Choice and a People's Choice award.

Huter said the funds help sustain the culinary arts pathway, one of 12 CTE pathways offered through TVUSD. She called the supplemental funding "invaluable" for giving students an elevated, industry-based experience in the classroom and kitchen.

Visit Temecula Valley, a nonprofit destination marketing organization, co-organizes the event with Pechanga Resort Casino and TVUSD. All proceeds benefit the district's CTE culinary arts program.

Organizers expect tickets to sell out quickly. More information is available at visittemeculavalley.com/battle-of-the-burgers.