FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, January 14, 2009
CONTACT: Richard L. Lobb (202) 296-2622 ext. 119
Field Is Set for National Chicken Cook-Off With Selection of Regional Winners
The field is set for the finals of the 48th National Chicken Cooking Contest with the completion of regional judging. Nine contestants from across the USA will meet in San Antonio, Texas, on May 2 to compete for the $50,000 grand prize and bragging rights as America’s top chicken cook.
“We have nine outstanding finalists, and we expect a very intense competition in the national showdown,” said contest director Nancy Tringali Piho. “May the best cook win!”
The national cook-off will be held at the San Antonio campus of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. The nine contestants will prepare their dishes twice in a three-hour period, once for the judges and once for display. The winner of the grand prize and the $10,000 Judge’s Choice Award will be announced at an awards reception that evening at La Mansion Del Rio hotel.
The finalists, one from each of the official U.S. Census Bureau divisions of the country, are:
PACIFIC: Elise Lalor of Issaquah, Washington, “Flattened Chicken with Herbs and Sticky Lemon.”
NEW ENGLAND: Jessie Grearson of Falmouth, Maine, cooking her recipe for “Chicken Naan-wiches with Sweet Date and Tangy Yoghurt Sauces.”
MID-ATLANTIC: Suzanne Banfield of Baskin Ridge, New Jersey, “Parmesan-Potato Crusted Chicken with Orzo Caprese Salad.”
SOUTH ATLANTIC: Lillian Julow of Gainesville, Florida, “Spanish-Style Sweet and Sour Chicken.”
EAST NORTH CENTRAL: Susan Cortesi of Northbrook, Illinois, “Warm Lemon Chicken over Panzanella Salad with Basil Aioli.”
EAST SOUTH CENTRAL: Brigitte Nguyen of Lexington, Kentucky, “Chinese Chicken Burgers with Rainbow Sesame Slaw.”
WEST NORTH CENTRAL: Diane Sparrow of Osage, Iowa, “Mojito Chicken with Plantain Fried Rice.”
WEST SOUTH CENTRAL: Nancy Walters of New Orleans, Louisiana, “Panko-Crusted Chicken Salad with Arugula, Grilled Stonefruit, Feta Cheese and Pomegranate-Balsamic Dressing.”
MOUNTAIN: Ruth Kendrick of Ogden, Utah, “Ginger-Scented Honey Hoisin Chicken Thighs with Sesame Seeds.”
The finalists were selected from a field of 51 semi-finalists, one from each state and the District of Columbia, who were chosen from thousands of entries from all over the country. The regional judging events were held at facilities of member companies of the National Chicken Council, sponsor of the competition. The regionals were at Perdue Farms, Salisbury, Maryland; Sanderson Farms, Jackson, Mississippi; Tyson Foods, Springdale, Arkansas; and Foster Farms, Livingston, California.
Each semi-finalist recipe was cooked by the professional chef of the hosting company and judged by an independent panel of food journalists from that region, who applied criteria of taste, originality, simplicity, and overall appeal. Each of the finalists will receive $1,000 and an expense-paid trip to San Antonio for a shot at the national title.
The National Chicken Cooking Contest, launched in 1949, is the oldest continuously operated major cooking competition in the United States. The National Chicken Council represents integrated chicken producer-processors, the companies that produce and process chickens. Member companies of NCC account for approximately 95 percent of the chicken sold in the United States.