12 Tips for Entering and Winning Recipe Contests Take Your Big Chance!

You just heard about a recipe contest where you can win a year's supply of home delivered meals or a professional set of cookware and kitchen appliances, or spectacular trip which includes a visit with a famous television chef and free lessons to a prestigious cooking school. Or maybe the prize is simply cash in the amount of hundreds or thousands of dollars. And all you have to do is submit your favorite recipe for a salad or fish or maybe your favorite holiday treat. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so you naturally want to give it your best shot. Follow these 12 simple tips to maximize your chances at making a dream come true.

1. Every contest has a set of rules. Read the official contest rules and read them again. Print the rules and using a highlighter marker, highlight the deadline, the method of entry, and what kind of recipe is called for. Pay attention to entry limits. Some contests limit entries to one entry per person, or one entry per household, or one entry per category. For example, there may be a recipe contest for using peanuts and there are four categories, one category for desserts, one category for snacks and appetizers, one category for entrees and one category for quick and easy salads. The recipe contest may allow you to enter one time in each category, giving you a total of 4 chances to enter. It is important to follow the rules so you don't disqualify yourself, but also have the opportunity to maximize your chances of being chosen.

2. Analyze the how the contest will be judged by using your highlighter to highlight that section of the rules. There will probably be a percentage breakdown of originality, creativity, taste, appearance, ease of preparation, or any other characteristic the judging agency deems important in determining the winning recipe.

3. Analyze the prize structure. The contest may have advertised a particular grand prize that caught your interest, but there may be other smaller prizes that also catch your interest. For example, maybe recipe contest finalists will receive a gift certificate to Williams and Sonoma or some other cookware store. Maybe recipe contest finalists will receive a gift card to their favorite grocery store. Or maybe recipe contest finalists will receive a years worth of a particular food product from the company sponsoring the contest. You will also note the values of each prize and you can determine if this is a prize you are willing to pay taxes on, because all prizes are taxable and need to be reported on your annual income tax.

4. After you determine you want to enter the recipe contest, take a piece of paper and jot your ideas on what kinds of recipes you would like to enter. You will later have to narrow that down to what you feel meets the recipe contest rules and criteria. Don't rush to enter your recipe, let it brew in your mind, especially if you have days or weeks or months before the deadline. Your initial thoughts may completely transform into something else as you let time pass.

5. The recipe you want to enter may be one you have cooked a thousand times, but for the purposes of the contest, you are going to have to write the recipe in an articulate format that communicates exact measurements of ingredients and method of preparation. Don't trust your memory, instead set aside a time where you are going to cook your recipe contest entry so you can document each ingredient and a set of step by step instructions. Don't underestimate the importance of this step because there may be some crucial trick or mention of a procedure you may have otherwise forgotten to include in your instructions.

6. If you are creating a new recipe, you will want to try it out and not just write what you "think" sounds tasty. Use your family members or friends to taste the finished product and get their opinion. You may need to adjust sweetness, or cooking time, or something else to perfect your recipe contest entry.

7. Don't copy someone else's recipe. Recipe contests generally want an original recipe and most contests deem 4 significant ingredient changes as what makes a recipe unique. Use your imagination and your own cooking style to create a unique recipe.

8. Title your recipe. Choose a name that accurately describes the food you created using some of your unique ingredients. For example, did you create a spinach salad using strawberries and peanuts? Then perhaps a recipe name such as "Strawberry Splashed Spinach Peanut Salad" would be a great recipe name.

9. Use ingredients that are easily available to the general public. The sponsor will likely want to use the winning recipes for a recipe booklet, or their website, or maybe print it on a label of one of their products.

10. If the recipe contests allows a picture, and it is optional, then by all means take a picture of your finished product. It can only help your contest entry, not hurt it.

11. Recipe contests often call for noting specific sizes of cookware and bakeware used. So when you use the optimum size sauce pan or skillet or muffin pans, or lasagna pan, look on the bottom of the pan to note the size. If you are not sure of the size, then visit a cookware store online and you will see the common and available sizes.

12. Keep a copy of all recipes you write for recipe contests. If it doesn't win, it may be used for a future recipe contest. And if it does win, you may have forgotten what you wrote by the time the winners are announced. Also be aware of the contest rules whether you give up the rights to your recipe just by simply entering the contest.

Good luck and have fun! A contest is a game and you can't win it, unless you're in it!

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