HARDIN — A recipe that is probably more than 100 years old cooked up into a delicious dessert and took the top prize in the 33rd annual Sidney Daily News Cookbook Cook-off, Saturday, Sept. 30.
The judges of the contest at the Crossroads in Hardin selected Chocolate Fudge Upside Down Cake as prepared by Lucille Weatherhead, of Casstown, as the grand prize winner.
Weatherhead, in her first appearance in the cook-off, took home the $300 Clancy’s Grand Prize as decided by Mojalefa “Jale” Jacob Moremi, culinary director of Lane Park of Sidney; Misty Shroyer, head cook manager of Sidney City Schools; and Gary Strasser, manager of Clancy’s in Sidney, the contest’s expert judges.
“Every one of the finalists presented interesting flavors, but in the end, you can’t go wrong with mom,” Strasser said in presenting the award. Weatherhead, 75, said the recipe had been her mother’s and that she, herself, had been making it for as long as she could remember. The cake, Saturday, also captured the $50 Dessert category prize, which was presented by Rachel Hale, representing the prize sponsor, Ohio Living Dorothy Love.
Twenty-four semifinalists in six categories presented dishes to the three expert judges and to category-prize sponsors during the event.
Hale also served as a guest judge of the Main Dishes category, sponsored by Flint’s TV & Appliance. Sidney Daily News Editor-in-Chief Melanie Speicher presented the $50 prize to Marilyn Winner, of Fort Loramie, for her Firecracker Casserole.
Kim Lewis joined the expert judges to select Margie Bruns’s Sausage Jalapeno Wonton Cups as the winner of the $50 Clancy’s Party Pleasers category. Bruns is from Anna.
Ken Metz, representing Window Guy and Co., presented that business’s $50 prize in the Versatile Veggies category to Jamie Julian, of Piqua, for her Acorn Squash Casserole.
Matthew Schutte, of Sidney and Troy CarStar, helped to select Sweet and Sour Alligator as the winner of the $50 prize in the Fish and Game category. Cole Patzman, of Hebron, Kentucky, prepared the delectable dish.
Roger Fulk captured the $50 Wilson Health prize for the best dish in the Fruits and Nuts category. Joining the expert judges to select it was Wilson Health representative Kelsey Borgert.
Throughout the day, newly published cookbooks and novels from national publishers, gift cards donated by local businesses and gift items provided by manufacturers from around the country were given as door prizes. Following the judging, the attendees enjoyed sampling all the food and each left with a gift bag of contributed items.
The 2017 Harvest Holiday Cookbook will be distributed in the Sidney Daily News issue of Nov. 18. It will be available for single-copy sale after that date. Advance orders for additional copies can be placed now. Single copies picked up in the newspaper offices at 1451 N. Vandemark Road cost $1.50 each. Copies to be delivered by mail cost $5 each. Order blanks will appear in the newspaper daily. For information or to order, call 937-538-4826.
The following business and organizations provided cook-off door prizes, gift-bag items and refreshments: Abrams, Airstream, America’s Test Kitchen, Arby’s, Auglaize, Logan, Shelby and Mercer County Farm Bureau, Aunt Millie’s Bakery, Balboa Press, Bendiware, Berwick Court Publishing, BiPlate LLC, Lisa Boucher, Cargill, Center Street, Community Foundation of Shelby County, Creative Marketing Strategies, Culver’s, Dairy Queen, Edison State Community College, Emerson Climate Technologies, Fair Winds Press, First National Bank, Forge, Frisch’s, Gateway Arts Council, GoodKnight Books, Great American Publishers, Hay House Inc., Home Skinovations, Honda of America Mfg.
Also Hyd Away, JSL Foods, Keystone Meats, LanePark of Sidney, Mama Rosa’s Foods, Marco’s Pizza, Michigan Apples, Midwest Electric, Minster Bank, Anita Mishook, Mutual Federal Savings Bank, NK Telco, Ohio Beef Council, Ohio Pork Producers Council, Ohio Poultry Association, Oxmoor House, Pioneer Electric Cooperative, PNC Bank, Quarry, Raise the Roof for the Arts, Slim Randles, Ruese Insurance, Ryland Peters & Small, Schulze Income Tax and Accounting, Scott Family McDonald’s, Senior Center of Sidney and Shelby County, Shadow Mountain, Shelby County Animal Rescue Foundation, Shelby County Historical Society, Shelby County Libraries, Sidney Daily News.
Also Sidney-Shelby County YMCA, Siloam, Skyhorse Publishing, Spherion, St. Martins Griffin, Stadler Form of Switzerland, State Farm Insurance, Subway, Swartz Construction, Swizz Style Inc., TarcherPerigee, The Spot, Tim Horton’s, Touchstone, Ulysses Press, US Bank, Wendy’s, Westbow Press, WPTW.
During the event, Speicher, Patricia Ann Speelman, Sheryl Roadcap, Heather Willard, Luke Gronneberg and Connie Rosenbeck, all on the Sidney Daily News staff, kept things moving. Additional contest assistance was provided by Sidney Daily News staff Wesley Stratton, Carol Pierce and Christina King, Clancy’s, Agape Distribution, Ken Bridges of Ben Waters Painting and G. Keith Victor, of Piqua.
