Cooking Can Be Fun and Profitable, Too

Camilla Saulsbury of Bloomington, IN won $100,000 for doing something she loves. She won the national chicken cooking contest for her Mahogany Broiled Chicken with Smoky Lime Sweet Potatoes and Cilantro Chimichurri. She competed against 50 other contestants - one from each state and the District of Columbia and endured the television cameras while she created her dish for the finals. But, hey, she probably thinks it was worth the trouble.

Do you like to create new dishes? Why not get paid (by prize or by cash) for your own innovative recipes. Start nosing around and you’ll be surprised to find contests everywhere you look, mainly sponsored by cooking or women’s magazines and food companies. Most won’t pay you a year’s salary for your creation, but the better cooks will do ok and feed their family and friends well in the process. Here are a few contests to consider:

• For ONGOING cooking contests, visit Cooking Contest Central.
• Go to Better Recipes and win cooking supplies in their daily giveaways.
• National Chicken Cooking Contest: This is one of the big daddies of cooking competitions.
• Memphis, TN presents The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.
• The Cheap Gourmet has monthly and on-going contests for you.
• For a wide variety of contests, check out Food Reference Recipe contests for everything from chili to mushrooms to sweet potatoes to Kid’s contests for 2011/2012.
• A comfortable and reliable site, the Food Network. Check their site for contests and offers, possibly win a cruise, cash, a dream home, and more.
• Looking for something a little different in food contests? How about "Competitive Eating Contests"? The International Federation of Competitive Eating site will give you an inside look at the "eating" end of cooking contests.
• Insider Tips For Winning Cooking Contests.
• Try Your Luck with more Contests.