Gilroy Garlic Festival Announces Recipe Submission Deadline

From the Gilroy Garlic Festival: The Gilroy Garlic Festival will be celebrating 40 years of family fun in 2018—including the Great Garlic Cook-Off, the amateur cooking competition that has been an annual tradition since the very first Garlic Festival in 1979.

Amateur chefs from around the country are invited to submit their original recipes by May 1, 2018. Eight finalists will be selected to compete on stage at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on Saturday, July 28, 2018 for the coveted garlic crown and a grand prize of $5,000.

According to Recipe Contest Co-Chairs Denise Buessing and Nikki Dequin, each original recipe must include a minimum of six cloves of fresh garlic or three teaspoons of chopped or minced garlic. The recipes will be prepared on the Garlic Cook-Off Stage and must be plated and served to a panel of judges in two hours’ time. The winner receives a cash prize of $5,000. Second place wins $2,500, and third place wins $1,000. The eight finalists also receive travel and lodging accommodations.

In the 2017 competition, Naylet LaRochelle from Miami, Florida beat out seven other finalists to claim the garlic crown with her winning dish of “Smoky Salsa Roja Shrimp and Roasted Garlic Cotija Grits.” Other recent winners have included “Garlic Goat Cheese Bacon Soufflé with Creamy Garlic Mustard Sauce” and “Carnival Style Fish Sticks with Lemony Jalapeno Mayonnaise and Spicy Apple Kohlrabi Slaw.”

Entries can be submitted online here and must be received no later than 4:00 pm on May 1, 2018. Submissions should be provided in recipe form and accompanied by a photograph of the final dish. Entries are limited to two recipes per person. Complete contest rules are posted here.

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