With the Columbia County Fair just around the corner, area cooks should start opening their recipe card files, pulling out their cookbooks and searching the internet for “Best of” dishes. The 5th Annual Morton A. Ginsberg Memorial Cooking Contest is about to begin.
On Monday, September 5, at 12:30 pm, anyone interested can bring their star quality dish, fully cooked, to the North Gate of the Fair and enter in the competition for cash prizes ranging from $100 to $300 in the Youth division and $200 to $500 among adult participants.
The cooking contest was inspired by Columbia County Bounty, a local
organization (now called Hudson Valley Bounty) that wanted to highlight regionally grown produce. In fact, every participant must include locally grown fruits and/or vegetables in his or her dish. Each entry must be accompanied by a copy of the recipe in a plastic sleeve (so moisture and spills won’t run the ink) and include the name, address and phone number of the cook as well as the source of local ingredients used in its creation. There are no cooking, refrigeration or set-up facilities available.
Last year’s grand prize winner was Jacqueline Stoddard of Valatie who submitted delicious chicken tamales. Other winners included Evelyn Ullman of Somerville who brought Beggar’s Purses and Judy Barra of Catskill for her Apple Pie Supreme. Not to be outdone by the adults, Theresa Kirsimagi of Stephentown took home first prize in the Youth Division for her Apple Cake Cockaigne. This year’s winners and their recipes will be on view at the Fair website.
The event has grown since its beginning in 2007. From just 6 entries that first year, Ginsberg and her colleague, Marilyn Barry, are expecting almost 100 of the area’s most promising chefs to participate in 2011. Entry forms are available on line at the Fair website www.columbiafair.com and must be postmarked by August 27. However forms can be hand delivered to the fair office until September 4. Both professional chefs and home cooks are welcomed. And kids can participate, too.
Judges will include Mike Connelly, Culinary Institute of America graduate and chef at Hyde Park Brewing, as well as four current CIA undergraduates. Besides ribbons and cash prizes, trophies will be given out to first, second and third place finishers.
Taste, presentation and originality are the criteria each judge will be considering. Cooks just need to bring enough for 8 servings. At around 3:30 on Monday afternoon, once the judges have completed their sampling and prizes are awarded, the remaining foods will be made available to the audience and everyone can make their own assessment of which dishes were the best.
The Cooking contest is being moved this year from the North Gate Stage to a tent in the arena just to the West of the stage.
The contest is just one of many terrific events at the Columbia County Fair. For a complete list go to www.columbiafair.com.
Sponsors this year include: Ginsberg’s Foods, Inc., A. Colarusso & Son, Inc., Hudson River Bank & Trust Co. Foundation, 98.5 The Cat & Cruisin’ 93.5, 107.7 WGNA, Berkshire Farm Center & Services for Youth, Columbia-Greene Community College, Hudson River Tractor Co., Madsen Overhead Doors, Register Star/Chatham Courier, Stewart’s Shops, Columbia Memorial Hospital, First Niagara Bank, W. B. Golf Carts, Agway of Chatham-Claverack-Millerton-Gt. Barrington, The Bank of Greene County Foundation, Cedar Flow Contracting, Columbia Hudson Partnership, Crossroad’s Ford, Custom Overhead Doors, Herrington Fuels, Inc., Kinderhook Bank, Mario’s True Value Home Center, Metz Wood Harder Insurance, Mulhern Gas Co., Pepsi Bottling Group of Albany, S. T. Hudson Plumbing, Tobacco Free Action, Valley Oil Inc., Carolina-Eastern Vail, Inc., COARC, Columbia County Sportsman Federation, Empire Livestock Marketing, The Lofgren Agency, Inc., Bovat Photo Art, Hannaford Supermarkets, and Price Chopper.