Be a WINNER!

An insider offers tips for creating
recipes that win contests

» Contests to enter

A giant Aloha Shoyu gift basket. Trips for two to the Big Island, Kauai and Europe. A frying pan. Thousands of dollars in cash. Dinners at John Dominis and Hilton Hawaiian Village restaurants. A classy "5-a-day the Hawaii Way" T-shirt.

This odd assortment represents some of the more memorable prizes I've won since I began entering recipe contests almost 25 years ago. Though not a "professional contester," I enjoy creating recipes and, of course, the times when my creations prove to be winners.

Am I just lucky at this? Maybe. But I believe that cooking creativity and knowing the recipe-contesting ropes have played a larger part in my success. And because I also believe that "You, Too, Can Be a Winner!" I've jotted down my top tips for you. In return, you must promise to let me know when you discover that trip-to-Europe letter in your mailbox!

DAVE SWANN / DSWANN@STARBULLETIN.COM

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1. You can't win if you don't enter.

Sounds logical, but most people, on hearing that I've won several recipe contests, will say, "I never win those." I ask if they've ever entered and they blink. "Uh, no."

2. Follow the rules.

These run from must-use ingredients to the format your submission must take. If you don't follow them all, even the ones in teeny-tiny print, you lose. Before real judges look at your entry, thousands will be sorted by readers who gleefully trash those that, for example, don't use "standard measurements" or aren't typewritten on an 8-by-11-inch sheet of paper.

3. Find contests where you won't be competing with everyone in the universe.

Check magazines, online resources and newspapers for regional competitions. Dream big (you, too, can win the Pillsbury Bake-Off millions!), but don't overlook state fairs or newspaper contests. Consider the odds.

4. Don't assume that you must be a good cook to win.

Great cooks and great recipes don't always equate. My fellow finalists have included a girl with a winning tuna-salad recipe who said, "It's the only thing I can cook, but my friends loved it so I said, 'What the heck?' "

5. Learn to "present" a recipe.

At one finalists' luncheon, a judge recognized my name and said, "You've won other contests, right?" When I nodded, she said, "That's because you understand presentation. Your entries were neatly typed, concise, but with everything essential listed clearly." I won $500 from Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts that day and the friendship of that helpful judge.

6. List ingredients and procedures in the order in which they'll be used.

This means chronological order. Always. When your garnish suggestion appears first on the ingredient list, or your instructions say "add meringue to dry ingredients" before an egg has been broken, you'll confuse cooks and turn off contest judges.

7. Think outside the categories.

Larger contests usually offer multiple categories, some of which draw fewer entries. When I entered two contests sponsored by the makers of sweeteners, I bypassed the more obvious dessert and drink categories. I submitted a honey-basted roast chicken entrée and a marinated sirloin appetizer. The results? Vacations on Kauai with a Hawaiian Gold Honey win, and in Paris courtesy of Equal Sweetener.

8. Submit more than one entry.

In contests without entry limitations, two well-chosen recipes are better than one. Judges are people. One detests tofu. One has a headache when your recipe reaches him. One sets herself a quota of 500 recipes to skim and discard in one hour (I made this up, but sometimes it seems that way). Give yourself a second, third or even a sixth chance.

9. Test your recipes.

I won a prize once for a recipe I'd never actually cooked. Thank heavens the thing worked! I'd made parts of it separately, and because I've been cooking for centuries and have made every conceivable mistake, I usually know how recipes will work and taste. But I didn't try that trick again and I wouldn't recommend it. Even better, have someone else prepare your dish. If your tester turns green and dies, consider entering something else.

10. Make good use of the sponsor's products.

Most contests are sales tools, especially those offering big prizes. Because winners' recipes are usually published in some form, sponsors seek those that will entice people to buy and cook with their fine products. All else being equal, they'll choose a recipe using 3 cups of their product over one that adds a mere pinch.

11. Collect recipes for inspiration.

Most contests require "original" recipes. When you create tasty ones, write them down. You're probably already collecting published recipes that intrigue you, and though you cannot submit those, you can browse your files for ideas. Some competitions allow you to "adapt" recipes. This means that you must make enough significant changes in a basic recipe so it ends up very different from the original.

12. Give some thought to the rewards that would be worth your while.

Big prizes are great, but you can reap other valuable rewards, especially in contests where finalists gather to cook or serve their dishes. You'll meet interesting people, including amateur and professional chefs and respected judges who'll help you hone your skills.

My Pahoa Pumpkin Soup won the "Most Ono" prize in a Hawaii state nutrition contest. The prize? A $5 Times Supermarket gift certificate and a visor with vegetables dancing across the brim. My friends laughed at that manini prize, but I enjoyed preparing my soup in a restaurant kitchen with a cool teenager who'd already decided he was a chef.

Friends also teased me about my fourth-place prize in an Armour/Leroux/Silverstone contest -- a frying pan. But hey, I had fun, the pan is worth $50 and works great, and now I know I can win in national competition.

13 (A strange-but-true story). Visualize.

This bonus tip comes courtesy of an old friend, writer Gay Ruth Burk, who died recently at age 97.

Gay, a tiny blonde with Bettye Davis eyes, interviewed every celebrity who visited Honolulu in the early '50s for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, President Truman -- she met them all.

When she was younger, she sang with big bands in California; while in her 80s, she still traveled the world alone, writing for romance as well as for travel, inspirational and children's magazines.

Gay was president of the Pen Women organization when I'd finally gleaned enough writing credentials to join in 1981. She encouraged and pestered me, always asking, "What are you writing now?"

One day, I said, "A recipe for a contest."

"And the prize?"

"A trip for two to Paris and $1,500 in cash."

"So you want to win this?"

Gay's advice: "Send in your best recipe. But first, practice 'creative visualization.' Start by picturing you and (your husband) Les posing in front of the Eiffel Tower for that picture all the tourists take. Keep that in mind until you've won the prize.

"Next, visualize your entry from the minute you drop the envelope into the mailbox until it's opened by the judge who reads your recipe and shouts, 'Yes! Exactly what we want!' Then, picture Les' face when you share the terrific news with him."

"And that's it?" I said. "Positive thinking and pictures in your mind?"

"That's it. Except for phoning me the minute you win."

Months later, I was able to phone Gay with the good news of my win from Equal Sweetener.

The following April, Les and I explored Paris, where a fellow tourist snapped our picture in front of the Eiffel Tower. The cash prize took us to England. A jovial old Londoner photographed us in a shiny red phone booth as we chatted with my unforgettable friend Gay in Hawaii.

Here is the recipe that won me that European vacation:

Splendid Sliced Sirloin

1 lean beef roast (sirloin tip, crossrib, etc.), 3-1/2 to 4 pounds.
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 packets Equal Sweetener
2 tablespoons capers or green peppercorns, drained and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon fines herbes
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place meat on rack in open pan and roast approximately 25 minutes per pound for medium-rare. Cool and cut into thin slices. Place meat in large glass or stainless-steel bowl.

Combine remaining ingredients and mix until well-blended. Pour over beef, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, 1 to 2 days.

Arrange meat slices attractively on large platter lined with lettuce leaves. If desired, garnish with chopped parsley and cherry tomato wedges. As a make-ahead party dish, serves 10 to 12.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Note: If you have more money than time, begin this with deli beef, but ask for thicker slices than the paper-thin ones in the deli case.

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Enter to win!

Free Web sites

www.contestcook.com lists many contests by deadline date, providing links for details and rules.

www.foodreference.com also is helpful and free.

Enter now!

Build A Better Burger Contest: Entry deadline is Aug. 25; top prize is $50,000. Sponsored by Sutter Home Winery; www.buildabetterburger.com.

GoHan in New York Recipe Contest: Essential ingredient is Japanese sticky rice; prize is trip-for-two to Japan. Categories are hot rice and sushi. Deadline is July 31. Info at www.berkoproductions.com

Quick N' Easy Recipe Contest: Must use Lee Kum Kee oyster or hoisin sauce; prizes are iPod minis and Macy's gift certificates. Deadline is Sept. 1. Info at usa.lkk.com/common (click on "recipes" at bottom of page).

Cook Like a Californian Chicken Recipe Contest: Categories are Traditions with Flair and Ethnic Twist; prize is $2,500. Bonus of $500 for using certain California produce items. Deadline is Sept. 30. Info at www.cpif.org

The biggies

These are held every two years; deadlines have passed for current competitions. Start planning for the next round.

National Chicken Cooking Contest: $100,000 prize. Details at www.eatchicken.com after Jan. 6.

National Beef Cookoff: $50,000 prize; next contest is in 2007. Info at www.beefcookoff.org

Pillsbury Bake-off: $1 million grand prize; next entry period will be in 2007. Details at www.pillsbury.com.

Also

» Magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, Cook's Country and Taste of Home offer monthly contests.

» Check out newspaper food sections and supermarkets displays for occasional contests.