Cooking contests

In hopes of starting a continuing thread announcing cooking and recipe contests, I offer a modest, but easy-to-win, ongoing local competition sponsored by my newspaper.

It costs nothing to enter; winning recipes (and photos of the sender, if submitted) are printed in the paper and the sender receives $25.

The only caveat is that to be eligible to win, you must live in the Lerner Newspapers coverage area (roughly the north half of Chicago plus the suburbs of Elmwood Park, Harwood Heights, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Norridge, River Grove and Skokie).

Lerner "Recipe Swap" contest rules and winning recipes

The Wilton "Your Take on Cake" decorating contest offers $1,000 cash and a trip to attend The Wilton School two-week master course for cake decorating in Darien, Ill, as the grand prize. A winner and runner-up in each category will be awarded $100 and $50 in assorted Wilton products, respectively.

Entries will be judged on creativity, appearance, technique and overall use of materials in each of five categories: kid birthdays, adult birthdays, baby/wedding showers, holidays and other (bar/bat mitzvah, weddings, anniversaries, etc.). The contest ends Sept. 30, 2004.

Wilton contest rules and entry form