LAST CALL FOR ENTRIES: DEADLINE JUNE 3 TO COMPETE FOR $10,000 PRIZE IN THIRD ANNUAL FOSTER FARMS FRESH CHICKEN COOKING CONTEST CELEBRATING WEST COAST BOUNTY OF LOCALLY GROWN FOODS

Foster Farms announces the last call for entries for its third annual Foster Farms Fresh Chicken Cooking Contest. The West Coast’s premier cooking contest features a grand prize of $10,000 plus a one-year supply of Foster Farms fresh chicken*. The deadline to enter is June 3, 2012 at 11:59:59 p.m. PDT. 

Foster Farms is encouraging home, amateur and professional chefs in California, Oregon and Washington to stir up locally-inspired cooking creativity and submit their favorite, original, fresh chicken recipes for consideration. Recipes must feature Foster Farms fresh chicken and should be inspired by fresh ingredients grown on the West Coast as a testament to Foster Farms’ commitment to foods that are fresh, locally grown and always natural. The scoring structure will be weighted to reward contestants whose recipes highlight truly fresh and local ingredients. Last year’s winner was a home chef and the 2010 winner was a cooking school student whose win helped launch her culinary career.

“We are inspired by the entries we’ve received so far which reflect the abundance of fresh, local ingredients available to us on the West Coast,” said Ira Brill, director of marketing services for Foster Farms. “We encourage cooks of all abilities to join the competition and share their own masterpieces of culinary originality.”

Foster Farms will host Regional Semifinal cook off events in San Diego, Calif., Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash., in August and September 2012 where contestants will compete for a chance to secure one of the six spots at the Finals event. The contest culminates with the Finals on September 28, 2012 at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena in California’s Napa Valley. The Semifinal and Finals events will be judged by a panel of leading food media and culinary professionals. All events are attended by media and a select number of consumers.  

• Fifteen semifinalists – five from each state – will receive $100 and compete in person at regional competitions held at prestigious culinary venues in Seattle (Kathy Casey Food Studios), Portland (The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Portland) and San Diego (The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California – San Diego). Six regional winners – two from each state – will receive $1,000.
• The six regional winners will head to the Finals in St. Helena to compete for the grand prize of $10,000 and a one-year* supply of Foster Farms fresh chicken. The six finalists will receive travel and lodging accommodations in the Napa Valley.
• Special “People’s’ Choice Award” winner will be selected by consumer spectators.

The contest is open to all California, Oregon and Washington residents over the age of 18. Following the conclusion of the contest, all entrants will receive a cookbook compiled from this year’s 15 semifinalists’ recipes.

For complete contest rules, please visit www.fosterfarms.com/cookingcontest. View last year’s recipes and more on Foster Farms’ new Pinterest page at http://pinterest.com/fosterfarmsca. No previous grand prize winners of the Foster Farms Fresh Chicken Cooking Contest are eligible to participate. Entries can be submitted online at www.fosterfarms.com/cookingcontest, by email at cookingcontest@fosterfarms.com or by mail to Foster Farms, Cooking Contest, P.O. Box 306, Livingston, CA 95334. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more information.