On Tuesday, I attended the Finals for the 2007 Simply Manischewitz Cookoff, here in NY. Thousands of entries were whittled down to 6 contestants from across the country:

• Evan Levy from Danville,CA, Southwestern Potato Kugel
• Joy Devor from Far Rockaway, NY, Fantastic Flounder Rolls
• Joe Carver from Philadelphia, PA, Falafel Pizza
• Julie Hession from Las Vegas, NV, Beef Tenderloin with Marsala Mushroom Sauce
• Greg Fontenot from The Woodlands, TX, Chicken in Balsamic Cherry Sauce
• Tracy Rapp from Memphis, TN, Southern Smothered Burgers

The rules for the cookoff were simple:

Recipes must be developed for a main course or soup, must be original, must be Kosher, must include at least one Manischewitz product and have no more than a total of eight ingredients, including any garnish (water, plain salt and pepper are not counted). Recipes may not include any branded products as ingredients which are competitive with Manischewitz products (including but not limited to Streits, Golds, Muellers and Pennsylvania Dutch). All ingredients must be listed, together with exact flavors/measurements/weights (in standard U.S. measurements). Complete preparation directions must be given including specific types and sizes of any cooking equipment used. Recipe must be for an easy-to-make dish, able to be completely prepared and ready to serve in no more than one hour. Each recipe must be an original recipe, created by entrant that has not previously been published nor won a prize or award.

Got that? The contestants had 1 hour to prepare their dishes, followed by presentation to the judges. The winner was Joy Devor, a housewife and substitute teacher from Far Rockaway, NY. It was a busy week for her - her daughter got married 3 days earlier.

I’m going to attempt to predict some of your questions:

• I didn’t get taste all of the entries. There was a catered fleishig lunch, so by the day the entries were done, I couldn’t
  try them all. The ones I tasted were quite good.
• 2 of the contestants weren’t even Jewish. Julie and Greg. So what? Last year’s winner wasn’t Jewish either.
• Yes, many Manischewitz products are sodium laden, and have trans-fats in them. The winning entry was primarily stuffed with Tam-Tams (a big trans-fat offender). Understandably, no one mentioned it, although Evan sheepishly admitted to me that he had no notion the potato latke mix had trans-fats, and that at home he makes the whole recipe from scratch.
• Julie’s recipe was made with sliced prime-rib, not tenderloin.
• Everything was Bishul Yisroel. Rabbi Chaim lit all the ovens and burners. He was additionally responsible for making certain that the dishes were served from Dairy to Pareve to Fleishig, for the Kosher judges. And sharp cheeses were replaced with less-sharp cheese, so that the Kosher judges wouldn’t have to wait six hours.

Manischewitz products may not be the best that kosher food has to offer, but they have an critical place in the kosher food landscape. And I’m still planning on entering that contest, one of these days. I just haven’t come up with my perfect recipe yet. You can see my pictures from the event here.

Original post by sweinberger

Passover Orthodox Jew Mezuzah Kosher Recipes Jewish Youth Torah Ask a Rabbi Bar Mitzvah Shuls Beth Din Yarmulkas Government Kosher Students Shofar Yemenite Shabbat Talmud Hanukah Jerusalem Tallis Bag Mezzuzah Kosher Camps Purim Rosh Hashanah Reform Talitot Jewish Personals Talit Jewish World News Antisemitism Yarmulke Communities And Synagogues Jewish Camps Hebrew Rabbi Chanukia Judaism Anti-Semitism Holocaust Jewish Holidays Mezuzot Jewish Women Kosher Travel Artscroll Paroches Ketubah Sukkot Shul Talis Taleisim