Are You a Home-Cook Hero?

Top Chefs call on Cork foodies to step up to the plate for national cookery competition

Celebrity TV chef Kevin Dundon was just one of Ireland’s top chefs who helped to launch the annual Easy Food Home-Cook Hero Awards, celebrating unsung kitchen heroes all over Ireland. Open to home cooks of all ages - from kids, to parents to grandparents - this competition is ideal for anyone who simply loves to cook and has a passion for food.

Judging this year’s competition are renowned celebrity chefs Kevin Dundon, Catherine Fulvio and Catherine Leydon, as well as Vanessa Greenwood of Cooks Academy and Gina Miltiadou, Publisher of Easy Food Magazine and Co-Founder of Zahra Media Group. The judges will be looking for tasty food that is quick and easy to prepare, as contestants will have to prepare it for the judges if they are shortlisted.

The competition will culminate in three super cooks being selected from each of the ten categories, who will then be invited to cook their recipe in front of the judges on November 2nd at the state-of- the-art kitchens in Cooks Academy. The winning recipes will be announced at a black tie gala event that evening at The Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin. The ten category winners will each receive 1,500 worth of prizes, plus the opportunity to be showcased in the Easy Food Home- Cook Hero Awards Cookbook.

Recipes should also be quick and easy, taking between 30 and 80 minutes to prepare and cook, depending on the category. Each entry must be accompanied by 50 words summarising what the recipe means to you.

This year, organisers have created a brand new interactive website www.homecookhero.ie , where entrants can set up a personal account to manage their recipe(s) or log in using their Facebook details. This year’s categories include: Best Burger: the best home-made burger recipe, Caca Milis: the best cakes and bakes, Catch of the Day: the best recipe using fish and Fabulous Fowl: the best chicken dish.

Closing date for entries September 28th, 2012.