CEK's 2012 Home Grown Chef Contest

***CONTEST NOW OPEN TO ALL BLOGGERS***

Did you ever get one of those emails for a recipe exchange where you have to send a recipe to the person in Placeholder #1, move the person in Placeholder #2 to the #1 spot then forward the email 20 of your family and closest friends? Sounds confusing but it's really quite simple. The key is that you will receive 36 new recipes to try. Well, over the past year, I've probably received about a dozen or so of these types of emails and it got me thinking. 


As much as I love to cook and experiment in my kitchen, I hear, see and taste many wonderful creations by my family, friends and other bloggers on a daily basis. You ALL have wonderful ideas with different tastes so wouldn't it be nice to be able to share your favorites. So here is what I'm proposing to do! 

Welcome to CEK's first ever Home Grown Chef Contest! 

Here's how it will work...


Submit your own favorite recipe along with the following information:

• Your Name
• Your City and State
• Your Recipe (including name, picture, ingredients and instructions)
• Your Photo (optional, but it would be nice to put a name with a face!)
• A brief bio about yourself (again, optional, but it's so nice to meet new people and learn a little bit about them!)
• Any other contact information you wish to share (e.g. If you have your own blog/website, share your url)
• Tell me how you currently follow my blog (Blogger, RSS/Email, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc)

Eligibility and Rules (there are always rules!)

• Entries MUST be food or beverage related (drinks, appetizers, main entrees, soups, breads, desserts, etc. No crafts please). 
• If your recipe is not original, that's ok! Just remember to acknowledge where it came from and if it is a copyrighted recipe, supply a link to the original so you can give that person proper credit!(e.g. Duncan Hines, another food blogger or even one of my recipes...flattery at it's best!)
• It's ok if you know me. My daughter asked if she could post her own recipe and that's fine with me. I'm not voting!
• All entries must be emailed to carrieexpktchn@optonline.net and will be accepted from April 1-May 12, 2012 ONLY.  Sorry, any entry received after May 12, 2012 will not be accepted. 
• Entry posts will run approximately from mid-June through mid-July (depending on how many total recipes are submitted). I will make an official announcement when this contest will start and end once I have received all of the entries.  
• There may be multiple entries per day; however, I will make sure I space them apart by a minimum of 2 hours before the next post)
• No more than 3 entries per person will be permitted. If there is an overwhelming response, only one recipe will be chosen. If submitting more than one, please list your order of preference. 
• And lastly, you must follow my blog in some way shape or form in order to enter (RSS/Email, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc). 

How it will work (ok this is the fun part!)

• I will post each recipe separately on my blog and will notify the entrant as to which day and time their post will be displayed. It will not be active (live on the blog) until this time.
• I will not promote any individual blog posts on any of my social media networks except for generic postings regarding the contest itself. The only exception will be for those people that are subscribed to my RSS/Email updates automatically.  
• It will be up to the individual to promote their own recipe on their specified day however they wish, but they must direct them to the Carrie's Experimental Kitchen specific link for that recipe (which I will give each entrant separately). 
• Feel free to use any Social Media you feel comfortable with (Facebook, Twitter, Blog, etc. to get people to view your recipe)
• The 5 recipes with the MOST page views (which means how many times someone clicked on that recipe) will advance to the next round. 
• Once the Top 5 Recipes have been decided (based on the most page views), I will create a poll on the blog itself where readers can vote on their favorite recipe. 
• The recipe with the most votes will win

The Prizes

1st Place

• Title of the CEK's 2012 Best Home Grown Chef (along with bragging rights!)
• $50 Gift Certificate to Williams Sonoma
• Custom Bamboo Cutting Board-Winner

2nd-5th Place

• My heartfelt gratitude for participating in my little contest along with public recognition on my blog and social media sites :)
• Custom Bamboo Cutting Board-Honorable Mention

So, is everyone ready? Get in that kitchen and whip us up something great!

I'm so excited to see what you're all going to be creating. 

Good Luck!