The Maine Event

So this past weekend was the Hood New England Dairy Cookoff and I am sad to report that I am not $10,000 or even $500 richer. I did not make the finals but I did have a wonderful time participating in the event. The fact that I even made the semi-finals was an accomplishment as it was reported that there were over 1,000 recipes entered. Even though I did not advance to the finals, I recieved a lot of compliments on my soup. One of the judges even came up to my cooking station afterwards and told me she thought my recipe was "brilliant". WOW! That right there is worth $10,000! Lorraine, our hostess, was very sweet and welcoming and the culinary school instructors and their students that were helping us were all lots of fun. Amanda, my helper, was awesome and help calmed my nerves thoughout the cooking process. I couldn't have gotten that soup in the bowls without her. This being my first ever cooking competition I have to admit my hands were shaking! I am already thinking about recipes to develop and enter in next years contest as I had so much fun doing this and I can't wait to do it again (if I qualify). The best part of the entire experience, however, is that I got to spend a beautiful weekend in Maine with my wonderful husband.

My cooking station:


Goofing away the pre-cooking jitters!


Me, TFWO (totally f'ing wigging out) and getting my station set to cook.



Getting my cook on! Many thanks to my helper Amanda who is standing behind me!


Presentation counts!


Team Soup!