World Food Championships 2015 Winner Announced!

World Food Championships 2015

Congratulations

Cindy Taffel
@TheBadVegan
Pompano Beach, FL (pop. 99,845)
Member Since Aug 2015

Hi Everyone!


It was pretty hot in Florida and I'm not only talking about the weather. Our Just A Pinch home cooks were on fire! I'm heading home but wanted to quickly share some highlights with you. I'll share my pictures soon.

The World Food Championships kicked-off with a blogger competition. Paula Todora placed 8th and Rebecka Evans got 1st place. What a way to start the competition!

Live demonstrations were happening during the day. I was able to catch one on gluten-free cooking by member Linda Bonwill. She rocked!

Opening rounds of cooking started and our team was ready to impress!

Cindy Taffel made it to the Seafood Top 10. She was in 1st place after day 1 of competition. Her sister Jodi (and fellow Just Pinch member) was helping her in the kitchen.

Nancy Judd also made it to the Seafood Top 10. She placed 7th - go Nancy!

Paula Todora made sure her plate was perfect before she turned it into the judges. It paid off... she's in the Dessert Top 10. Paula's in 5th place after the first round.

Juliana Evans had her mom helping her in the kitchen. They were a great pair... Juliana made it the Dessert Top 10 placing 9th.

Rebecka Evans double checked her game plan before cooking began. She made the Bacon Top 10 finishing 8th.

Thanks to her second recipe, Lori McLain took 10th place in the opening round of Fresh.

When the Top 10 winners were announced, I spotted a few Pinchers members up on the stage. Congrats to V Seward (Fresh) and Donna Bardocz (Dessert).

Ann Jones added the final touches to her Pasta recipe. She made the Top 10 finishing 6th.

Alex Callegari made it through the first Pasta round finishing 8th. He had fellow Just A Pinch member Sherri Williams helping him in the kitchen.

Darci Bos was calm and collected. She finished the first day of Chili in 6th place!

During the Top 10 round, Paula Todora turned in quite the dessert. It earned her 2nd place and $1,500.

We have a Seafood Champion! Cindy Taffel took 1st place in the Seafood category, earned a spot at the Final Table and won $10,000!

Paula Todora was chosen to compete in the Kansas City Steak Challenge. She presented a beautiful dish!

Alex Callegari was also randomly chosen to compete in the Kansas City Steak Challenge. He came in 2nd place and won $1,000!

Darci Bos came in 5th in the Chili competition. She's the first Just A Pinch competitor to place in the Chili Top 10. Congrats Darci!

Cindy Taffel proved that home cooks rule. She created a wonderful Final Table dish and came in 7th. Yay Cindy!

I loved to spend time with everyone this week. We had someone back at the final table this year, which added to the excitement. In total, the Just A Pinch team earned $13,000! Make sure to leave a comment below and let our competitors know how proud of them you are too.


And the winners are...


These home cooks will be cookin' with the pros at the 2015 World Food Championships in Kissimmee, FL. These talented guys and gals may leave Kissimmee with some serious bragging rights... and $100,000 in prize money!

Bacon:


Burger:


George Levinthal - Goleta, CA*
Slaw-Tastic Smokey Cheeseburger

Jasmin Stewart-Harbin*
Garlic Aioli Avocado Mango Salsa Burger

Tara Waites - Dallas, TX
BBQ Bacon Cheese Burger w/Chipotle Mayo

Chili:


Barbara Hahn - Park Hills, MO*
Texas Style Eggplant Chili

Darci Bos - Lebanon, TN*
"Three Amigos Chili"

William Smith
Backwoods Surf-n-Turf Andouille and Alligator Chili

Dessert:


Juliana Evans*
Praline Bananas Foster Cakelettes

Trish Morris - Pahrump, NV
Lemon Ginger Crunch Parfait

Fresh:


Debbie Reid - Clearwater, FL*
Scallops with Zucchini & Sun-dried Tomato Linguine

Lori McLain - Denton, TX*
Yellow Polka Dot Zucchini Side

Pasta:


Sandwich:


Jackie Mento - The Villages, FL*
Smokin' Turkey Melt with Red Orange Marmalade

Noelle Myers - North Dakota
Jacked Up Mac and 'Que

Seafood:


Cindy Taffel - Pompano Beach, FL*
Kantishna Delishna Southern Seafood Chowder

Mary Edwards - Long Beach, CA*
Thai Lobster Waldorf Salad

Automatic Qualifiers.

These home cooks did so well at past World Food Championships, they were automatically invited back!

Dessert: Paula Todora - Keller, TX*
Fresh: Carol White - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Fresh: Jodi Taffel*
Seafood: Nancy Judd - Alpine, UT*

*Competing in Kissimmee

We were inundated with delicious entries in the Just A Pinch World Food Championship contest and it was very hard to narrow down the entries. It's pretty clear that ALL of you home cooks have some serious cooking chops!

Leave a comment below to wish the competitors good luck in Florida!

Rules and Regulations

32 Comments
Northwestgal
Vickie Parks - over a year ago
Congratulations to all who competed. Your recipes all sound so delicious.
athomewrebecka
Rebecka Evans - over a year ago
Thank you Just A Pinch, for sponsoring me at the 2015 WFC! I'm thrilled to be a part of this amazing community and have the opportunity to represent such a fine group of people! Janet...You are now and forever my "Dutch Apple Baby Lady" Thank you for believing in me and your continued support throughout the competition! SMOOCH!!!
View photo
merrycarol
Merry Graham - over a year ago
What a wonderful talented group of Just A Pinch homecooks! Congratulations to all who survived the humidity of Florida. I enjoy seeing everyone each year ~ such a reunion. I only wish we had more down time together. Merry Cooking to all!
Josee_Lanzi
Josee Lanzi - over a year ago
I loved seeing all my friends that competed again this year even though I did not qualify this year through just a pinch as I pre qualified last year as a top ten winner I chose to let opportunities to others to qualify that had not yet this year! Congratulations to all that competed!
View photo
souxie
Susan Bickta - over a year ago
Wow!! This is one talented group!!! Fingers crossed for all!! GOOD LUCK and enjoy!!
cottman
Connie Ottman - over a year ago
Right down the street from me. Gotta go and watch!
Congratulations everyone!
JennyPowers
Jenny Powers - over a year ago
Congratulations everyone. I hope you have a great time and win!
blondie8080
Blondie Pussycat - over a year ago
Congratulations to all our JAP winners. Report back to us the crazy stuff y'all did!
=^. .^=
lmclain
Lori McLain - over a year ago
I am so thankful to Just A Pinch and am excited to see everyone !
Starwriter
Ellen Gwaltney Bales - over a year ago
Wonderful recipes--congratulations and good luck to all!
Kattyw
Kathy W - over a year ago
Congratulations to all of the winners! Good luck to all!
firemanbob65
Bob Cooney - over a year ago
Good Luck and Congratulations to all of You. ..

GO TEAM !!#
ansky714
Lora DiGs - over a year ago
GOOD LUCK TO ALL :)
grandedame
sallye bates - over a year ago
Congratulations to all the winners. Have a fun and successful trip to the contest.
Mstwinkie
Carol White - over a year ago
I want to congratulate all of this years winners. I wish you all the very best in your categories.