Sugardale Competition

As you know, Didi recently competed in the Great Sugardale Bac-on. Here is her account of her experience:

So I just got back from my first ever food competition. For most of you that are regular readers to Ann’s blog, you are aware that I LOVE to entertain. I love to cook and bake, it is literally a creative outlet for me… a true passion that is “never” labor intensive!!

So, having been inspired by another blog, I entered a recipe for the Great Sugardale BAC-ON competition being held at the Ohio State fair in Columbus OH. I figured, “what the heck, what is the worst that can happen, they’ll send me a coupon”!

Fast forward a few weeks later I get a phone call from a Sugardale rep that I am one of the 30 semi-finalists along w/ an email. Our recipes were judged on creativity, orginality, ease of preparation etc. They wanted me to fill out papers once I received them (they FedEx it), have them notarized and send them back within 7 days. Once they received my papers “their chefs” would make my dish and present it to a panel of judges. The judges would then critique it based on appearance,taste etc. If I passed that part, then I moved on to become one of nine semi-finalists. Their were 3 categories. Ready Bacon, Appetizers/Entertaining and Main Dish. I was Main Dish, my recipe was “Steak & Bacon Rolls”.

I was notified 3 weeks ago that I was one of the 9 SEMI-FINALISTS!!! Yooohoooo, jump up and down, cheer, fist pump… wait, hold on… OMG!!!! ANXIETY!!! “I can’t do this” I tell myself, what was I thinking. My family (bless them all, cuz I am so not the easiest person to live with), was trying to calm me in-between my fits of hysteria over this!

Fast forward to last Thursday – Can I just preface this and tell you guys how I LOVE MY BUTCHER!! Allen, the owner of Skip’s Meat Market on W. Ridge Road (Rochester), is THE BEST!!! He cut my pre-ordered flank steak to the thinness that I needed for a “quicker cooking time”. The butcher shop was also rooting for me!!

A few weeks back when I found out I was one of the 9 semi-finalists, I promptly went to the butcher to get flank steak. They were out. Huh, you’re a butcher, how can you be out of flank steak?? Seriously??? I quickly explained to Allen’s niece why I needed Flank steak, what it was for… and very quickly I became the Skip’s celebrity! LOL

Nevertheless, I substituted skirt (not the same, but flatness is what I was looking for), and promptly came home to a calamity of errors. Everything that could of go wrong for this trial run, DID!! By the end of the night, hubby had quit trying to approach me (bless the patience of this man), the dogs were in hiding and the girls were LOCKED in their rooms w/ IPODS and pretending they were on a Greek Island somewhere!! I was a mess! Tears streaming from my eyes, basically knowing I can’t do this, and what was I thinking! Didn’t sleep all night, and kept going over the time requirements and what I could do differently. Did it again on Saturday… success! YES!!

Fast forward to last Saturday. We arrived at the Ohio State Fair, and were in the wrong gate, can’t find the Main Stage, you know the drill….

I’m freaking, family is BACKING AWAY AND HATING ME!! *insert evil grin*

We find the stage, and then is where I meet the most AMAZING, SWEET AND TALENTED people ever!! They were so friendly, and awesome. They were from various parts of the country and we were all their to do what we like best… cook!! I was next to such talent you guys, it blew me away!!

This is where my *drama queen #1 and I first arrived*

We were third on the venue. We waited and cheered and had our fingers crossed!! We were literally melting, it was so hot that day!!

Finally, my turn to prep. I go to the prep area and… their is a hot plate. I have 30 minutes to prep and it took the blessed hotplate 13 minutes to HEAT… PANIC TIME!!! It was in a domino (what the heck effect) at this point. My drama queen took my parsley on stage thinking it was garnish, it was for my stuffing, the bacon wasn’t cooking fast enough…. on and on and on.

On stage, the camera was constantly filming what I was doing, I was constantly being asked questions by the MC, and I was SWEATING because it was so hot. I NEVER SWEAT!!

This is the dish I made.

All in all, even though I didn’t place, I wouldn’t take back that experience for all the money in the world! It was an amazing experience. Just meeting such wonderful, talented ppl was payback in itself!!

Did the fact that I didn’t place deter me? No, it actually motivated me to try harder, plan for mishaps and READ, READ, READ the fine print re: cooking times etc.

This was a dream come true for me, and I was honored and amazed to even be competing!!

Thank you Sugardale, love their bacon!!

Didi

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