Paula Deen Recipes queen to settle national cooking contest in Savannah
Paula Deen and Philadelphia Cream Cheese will introduce the four winners of the "Real Women of Philadelphia," an eight-week online cooking contest that attracted more than 5,000 entries, in a grand finale at the Lucas Theatre for the Arts on Wednesday evening.
"This could change four people's lives," said Deen. "You don't know what this will lead to. Forget the $25,000 (the talent contracts each winner will receive). If these girls are really good, they could wind up doing videos everywhere."
The competition began March 29, and it called for videos of contestants preparing recipes in four categories - side dish, appetizer, entree and dessert - to be submitted to the event's website, realwomenofphiladelphia.com.
Each entry had to include, of course, Philadelphia Cream Cheese in its ingredients.
Contestants from Washington state to the tip of Florida submitted recipes, Deen said, and from that enormous response, 16 semifinalists - four from each category - were chosen to participate in the final cook-off in Savannah.
They looked at more than just the recipe, although that had to be delicious, Deen said. "We were also looking for great stories," she said.
One of those chosen, Lindsay Rudolph of Winchester, Va., said she grew up eating Little Debbie snack cakes. Her dessert entry, Oatmeal-Apple Cream Pies, was made in that style, but with a twist. A physical education teacher, Rudolph said she started a blog last year, Cookin' Lean Like Paula Deen, in which she adjusts some of Deen's recipes to make them healthier.
In all, Rudolph put together seven recipes for the contest, one side dish, two appetizers, two entrees and two desserts.
"Paula made it so easy," Rudolph said, referring to the instructions on the website.
Cathy Hazzard of Palm Bay, Fla., is a semi-finalist in the side-dish category.
She will cook an old family favorite, Shrimp Corn Chowder.
"This is beyond unbelievable," said Hazzard, who laughed and said she'd never done anything like this before. "I had to call my daughter," she said, "and ask her, 'Hey, do you know anybody with a video camera?'"
Rudolph, Hazzard and the 14 other semifinalists will gather in Savannah this weekend.
After enjoying the city, and Deen's legendary hospitality, they will cook their recipes Monday in a full-service kitchen set up at Meddin Studios.
Deen and several other judges will sample their efforts, and a winner will be chosen for each of the four categories.
The results will be made public Wednesday evening before the live audience at the Lucas.
The seats at the Lucas were snatched up in less than a week when they became available earlier this month, said Nick Gant, the creative director of Meddin Studios.
But, he said, if you get to the Lucas before 7 p.m., you can wait in line and hope that some become available.
"If I'd had an opportunity like this when I started, I'd have been so, so happy," Deen said. "These girls can get a real jump start."