Sunday, October 9, 2011

You like contests? Me too!

This recipe won a contest for me.
I like entering contests. Sometimes I win, which is great. But I also enter the contests as a way to brainstorm. Trying to create recipes within the parameters of a contest can be challenging, and I've ended up creating recipes that I might never have thought of otherwise.

One thing I look for before entering a contest is how the copyrights are handled. I prefer contests where I keep all of the rights. My second choice is contests where the contest sponsor only acquires rights to the winning recipes.

I tend to avoid contests where the sponsor acquires all rights to all of the recipes that are submitted to the contest. I work pretty hard at creating recipes - I don't give up rights to them easily. If the prize is large enough and I think I have some chance of winning, I consider entering these contests, though.

Here are a few contests you might be interested in. If you know of more, let me know.

Kitchen Play

You might notice that about once a month I post about contests on Kitchen Play. It's pretty simple, but you need a blog to play. Every month, there's a new menu posted, and bloggers are invited to make the same recipes or adapt them.

Adaptations can be close or pretty far-fetched, but it's probably smart to keep the ingredient that belongs to the company that sponsors the contest. The prize is usually $100, with a winner for each "course" of the menu, so there are six winners each month. You're required to link to the sponsor and to Kitchen Play, but when I enter, I usually also link to the blogger who created the original recipe, because it's a nice thing to do.

Marx Foods

Marx Foods has some pretty sweet contests. Having a blog isn't required, but it's easier if you have one. But for a lot of the contests, you can post your recipes on the Marx Foods site. The prizes I've seen have been credit to the Marx Foods site, in varying amounts. A while back I won a contest they sponsored and was able to buy some racks of Berkshire pork. Best pork I've ever eaten.

The other really cool thing is that Marx is pretty generous about sending samples to bloggers. They hope that bloggers review them, but there are no strings attached. You have to keep an eye on the Marx Foods site to see what's being offered as samples. The contests also involve using samples from the company.

Scharffen Berger

Scharffen Berger has a contest going with a grand prize of $10k. Here's a blurb from the site:

Elevate your favorite classic cookie or cake recipe with Scharffen Berger Chocolate, and give a familiar dessert a delicious new spin!

Our team of expert tasters will judge your recipe on taste, creativity, ease of preparation, and appropriate use of various cacao percentages. In addition to your original recipe, you must also submit a 30-100-word teaser paragraph to introduce and "sell" your recipe. If you're chosen as our Grand Prize winner, you'll take home $10,000.

So preheat those ovens, unwrap some Scharffen Berger Chocolate, and let's get baking!

This info on the next two contests recently landed in my inbox recently, so I figured I'd pass them along. The prizes look nice, but I haven't checked out all the fine print yet.

Pilgrim's Chicken

Pilgrim’s, one of the largest chicken producers in the country, would like to invite you to submit an original chicken recipe to our 22nd annual Winning Taste Recipe Contest. We have some fantastic prizes, including an all-inclusive 4-day spa package to Lake Austin Spa, which includes a cooking school “The Culinary Experience,” a KitchenAid Mixer, a Wusthof Knife Set, and a KitchenAid Blender.

You can find the details of the contest and enter it here. Pilgrim's Facebook page also has information.

Zpizza

In honor of National Pizza Month and its 25th anniversary, Zpizza launches “Pure Pepperoni” and asks customers to help design its next pizza creation through the “Pure Pepperoni Design Your Dream Pizza” recipe contest throughout October.

From October 6-31, fans can create their dream pepperoni pizza via the “Pure Pepperoni Design Your Dream Pizza” recipe contest on the zpizza Facebook page. Entries will be judged by Zpizza’s culinary team, Sid’s Kitchen, a food and restaurant reporter for The Orange County Register and the public.

The winning recipe will be announced Nov. 21 and featured on menus during National Pizza Week, Jan.9-13, 2012, along with the possibility of becoming a permanent menu item. The winner will also receive “free pizza for a year.” To enter, go to www.facebook.com/zpizza
Yum

2 comments:

Kitchen PLAY said...

Thanks, Donna. Your involvement and support is always appreciated. You've won a few at Kitchen PLAY as well, which makes it all the more fun!

Best,
Casey
Kitchen PLAY

Sherri M said...

I love them. But alas, I think I'm the most unlucky person in the world. I've never ever won anything in any contest. But, I keep trying!

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