Washingtonians Rebecca Cameron and Sandra Gray today were named winners of the Washington Regional Finals of the Third Annual Foster Farms Fresh Chicken Cooking Contest held at Kathy Casey Food Studios. Each winner received a $1,000 cash prize and will compete at the Finals in person on Sept. 28, at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in California’s Napa Valley. A $10,000 grand prize and one-year supply* of Foster Farms fresh chicken will be awarded to the contest’s Grand Prize winner.
During Friday’s Regional Finals cook off event, three judges – Kathy Casey, celebrity chef and owner of Kathy Casey Food Studios, Cynthia Nims, editor of Mon Appétit, and Jamie Peha, host of KKNW 1150AM “TableTalk – Radio that Tastes Good” – selected Rebecca Cameron’s Tea Rubbed Chicken with Apple Spinach Salad and Spicy Nuts and Sandra Gray’s Cherry and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken with Merlot Scented Lentils recipes as their top picks. Recipes were judged based on use of fresh, local ingredients, including locally grown Foster Farms fresh chicken. Judges made decisions based on taste, use of fresh, local ingredients, appearance/appeal, simplicity/ease of making and originality.
“Congratulations to Rebecca Cameron and Sandra Gray for their quality, creative recipes using local Washington ingredients,” said Ira Brill, director of communications for Foster Farms. “We applaud all our contestants in Washington, Oregon and California for raising the caliber of recipes this year and look forward to a fierce competition at the Finals in the Napa Valley.”
Nearly 1,200 home, amateur and professional chefs residing in Oregon, Washington and California submitted their prized, original, fresh chicken recipes for consideration. Rebecca Cameron and Sandra Gray will join Oregon Regional Finalists Karen Bernards (Hoisin Chicken Thighs) and Judith Berman-Yamada (Cumin Chicken Paillards with Grape Tomatoes, Scallions and Wine) and California’s to-be-determined winners at the Finals. As a testament to Foster Farms’ commitment to foods that are fresh, locally-grown, always natural and delivered fresh to stores in 48 hours or less, recipes featured Foster Farms fresh chicken and were inspired by local ingredients. For complete details visit www.fosterfarms.com/cookingcontest/.
As far as trend indicators, many of the recipes submitted this year were health focused. Grains and legumes, such as quinoa, barley and lentils, were widely used to complement the chicken. Many recipes also included rubs, several of which incorporated coffee or tea.
