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Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest Is Now Accepting Entries You Could Win $1 Million for Original Recipe


WEBWIRE

It’s time to get creative in the kitchen! The 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest is open for entries, and you could win $1 million with one simple recipe idea.

The contest finals will take place April 11-13, 2010, at the newly built Waldorf=Astoria Orlando and Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek hotel in Florida. In 1949, the first Bake-Off® Contest was held at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City, so in celebration of 60 years of recognizing and rewarding home cooks’ creative cooking, Pillsbury is taking the 44th contest to the newest Waldorf= Astoria property.

Creative home cooks must enter online at www.bakeoff.com or via the Spanish language site www.quericavida.com between now and April 20, 2009 for a chance at the million-dollar grand prize.

At the last Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest in 2008, the creator of a Mexican Pesto-Pork Tacos recipe won $5,000. And one of the finalists in that contest, Pamela Tapia, created a Huevos Rancheros Pizza that combined her love of making homemade pizza with her love of Mexican flavors.

Through the years, we’ve seen more and more Mexican- and Latin-inspired recipes being entered into the contest,“ said Kim Anderson, Pillsbury Bake-Off ®Kitchens Manager. ”This year, we’re eager to see how home cooks will use their favorite flavors and love of cooking to create new recipe ideas for family breakfasts, appetizers, snacks, easy main dishes and quick treats"

General Mills, along with returning contest sponsors General Electric, The J.M. Smucker Company, Eggland’s Best, Land O’Lakes, Inc., Fisher® Nuts, and new sponsor The Hershey Company, will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the venerable Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest. While many of the sights, sounds and aromas resemble the first event held in 1949, some significant changes have been made in the contest--the cooking is quicker to meet consumer interests and the stakes have risen dramatically through the past 60 years to a $1 million grand prize. This contest, consumers also will have a chance to help determine 10 of the 100 final recipes.

Other contest news includes new eligible ingredients, such as Hershey®’s cocoa, baking chips or bits and baking chocolates, Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk, Pillsbury Refrigerated Crescent Recipe Creations ™ flaky dough sheet and Pillsbury Refrigerated Thin Pizza Crust, and new prizes including an award recognizing Crisco® Cooking Oil as an ingredient and the new GE Profile™ Induction Free-Standing Range as part of select prize packages.

Cash, Prizes and Trips
The 44th Bake-Off ® Contest will award more than $1.1 million in cash, prizes and trips. There are four contest categories, and the judges will award the top recipe in each category a prize. One of the four category winners will win the $1 million Grand Prize and a GE Profile™ Induction Free-Standing Range, plus the winner chooses $7,000 in additional GE Profile™ kitchen appliances. Combined retail value of Grand Prize is approximately $1,010,300.The three remaining Recipe Category Winners each receive $5,000 and a GE Profile™ Induction Free-Standing Range. Combined retail value of each Category Prize is approximately $8,300.

Three additional awards will be presented to winners chosen from any of the recipe categories who have not already won another prize:

* The GE Imagination At Work Award recognizes the most innovative recipe,and its winner receives a GE Profile™ Induction Free-Standing Range,plus winner chooses $1,700 in additional GE Profile™ kitchen appliances. Retail value of the GE Imagination At Work Award is approximately $5,000.
* The Jif® Peanut Butter Award recognizes the finalist who has the best recipe using at least [1/4] cup of Jif® Peanut Butter. The winner will receive $5,000.
* The Crisco is Cooking™ Award recognizes the finalist who has the best recipe using at least 1 tablespoon of Crisco® Cooking Oil. The winner will receive $5,000.

Each of the 100 finalists wins a trip to the contest finals, including airfare, a two-night stay at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Florida, daily event-sponsored meals, a GE countertop microwave oven (estimated retail value of $249), and $100. Approximate retail value of each finalist package is $1,300. Each finalist is eligible to win only one of the contest awards in addition to the finalist package.

Recipe Categories
Four recipe categories define the kinds of recipes consumers should submit for the Bake-Off® competition.

The Breakfast & Brunches category includes casual brunch or weekend family breakfast ideas. For example, sweet rolls, pull-aparts, breakfast breads, egg dishes or breakfast sandwiches.

In the Entertaining Appetizers category, entrants can submit appetizers and snacks to serve at casual gatherings with family and friends or for holiday entertaining. For example, tartlets, pinwheels, puffs or bite-size appetizers.

The Dinner Made Easy™ category encourages home cooks to create easy-to- prepare main dishes that will delight your family. For example, family pizzas, calzones, sandwiches, foldovers or savory pies.

Quick and easy treats for anytime celebrations can be entered into the Sweet Treats category. Recipes for this category could include cookies, pies, tarts, brownies or bars.

“Past finalists have told us that they found inspiration from their favorite restaurant dishes or while traveling,” said Kim Anderson, the Bake-Off® Kitchens Manager. “Recipe entries must be original, so one tip is to look for ways to update an old family recipe with convenience ingredients or simpler preparation.”

Eligible Products
Contest officials have created two lists of eligible products. Contestants must use two or more different eligible products in their recipes, with at least one ingredient from the primary list of products and a second from either the primary or secondary list.

The primary list features returning eligible products to the contest, including Pillsbury(R) Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls, Classic Pizza Crust, Cookie Dough and Ready to Bake Cookies, Grands!® and Golden Layers® Biscuits, Cinnamon Rolls, Breadsticks, Crusty French Loaf, and Pie Crusts; Brownie Mixes and Pillsbury BEST® Flour. Pillsbury Refrigerated Crescent Recipe Creations™ flaky dough sheet and Thin Pizza Crust are new products on the primary list.

The secondary list features Green Giant® Frozen Vegetables, Jif® Peanut Butter, Smucker’s® Jams, Jellies, Preserves, Fruit Spreads and Ice Cream Toppings, Crisco® Cooking Oil, Eggland’s Best Eggs, LAND O LAKES® Stick Butter and Fisher® Nuts. Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk and Hershey®’s cocoa, baking chips or bits and baking chocolate are new eligible ingredients also on the secondary list.

“Many of the eligible products are already very familiar to home cooks, so people can choose their favorite ingredients from throughout the grocery store and start getting creative,” said Anderson. “The ingredients come in a variety of flavors, too, so I’m excited to see the new recipe ideas.”

The official contest rules are available at www.bakeoff.com or the Spanish language site www.quericavida.com and list the specific eligible products and the amount of each that must be used in a recipe entry.

The 100 mini-kitchens will also be stocked with Crisco® No-Stick Cooking Spray.

How to Enter
You must enter online at www.bakeoff.com or www.quericavida.com. Only entries submitted via the electronic entry form provided on these web sites will be accepted.

The contest is open to amateur cooks, ages 18 or older as of January 7, 2009. Contest entries must be the original recipe of the contestant. The recipes will be judged for 1) taste, 2) appearance, 3) creativity, and 4) consumer appeal. All entries must meet the requirements of the recipe category and appropriately use two of the eligible products in at least the quantity specified. Entrants must also be registered members of www.pillsbury.com.

More Contest News
Two groups of recipes will be chosen from all contest entries to comprise the final 100 winning Bake-Off® recipes--90 recipes whose creators will directly earn a spot at the competition and 20 recipes that will be placed on www.bakeoff.com during the summer of 2009 in pairs. Consumers 18 years of age and older as of May 1, 2009, can vote online for their favorite of the two recipes in each pair. The entrant from each pair whose recipe receives the most votes will become a finalist and compete for the $1 million prize in Orlando.

Contest sponsors are partnering to bring the news of the upcoming 44th Bake- Off ® Contest to consumers via a variety of promotional and advertising initiatives. In-store advertising and advertising in magazines and newspaper inserts will remind consumers to enter their recipes. Contest news also will appear on web sites and in e-newsletters.

America’s most prestigious cooking contest, the Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest originated in 1949. The $1 million grand prize has been awarded since 1996. The last Pillsbury Bake-Off ®Contest was held April 2008 in Dallas, Texas. Carolyn Gurtz of Gaithersburg, Md., won the $1 million grand prize at the 2008 contest with her Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies.

About the Sponsors
One of the world’s leading food companies, General Mills operates in over 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands, including Cheerios, Haagen- Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Progresso, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., General Mills had FY2008 global net sales of US$ 14.9 billion, including the company’s $1.2 billion proportionate share of joint venture net sales. For more than 130 years, families have trusted Pillsbury to make mealtimes special times. Favorite Pillsbury products include refrigerated cookies, crescent dinner rolls, breads, biscuits, pie crusts and sweet rolls as well as frozen biscuits, breads, pie crusts, pastry bites and breakfast items. For product information and great-tasting recipes, visit www.pillsbury.com. Log on to www.generalmills.com for company information.

GE Consumer & Industrial spans the globe as an industry leader in major appliances, lighting and integrated industrial equipment, systems and services. Providing solutions for commercial, industrial and residential use in more than 100 countries, GE Consumer & Industrial uses innovative technologies and ecomaginationSM, a GE initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that help customers and consumers meet pressing environmental challenges, to deliver comfort, convenience and electrical protection and control. General Electric (NYSE: GE) sells products under the Monogram®, Profile™, GE®, Hotpoint®, SmartWater™, Reveal® and Energy Smart® consumer brands, and Entellisys®, Tetra®, Vio™ and Immersion® commercial brands. GE imagination at work. For more information, consumers may visit www.ge.com.

For more than 100 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that help families create memorable mealtime moments. Today, Smucker is the leading marketer and manufacturer of fruit spreads, retail packaged coffee, peanut butter, shortening and oils, ice cream toppings, sweetened condensed milk, and health and natural foods beverages in North America. The Company’s wide variety of icon brands and products include such trusted favorites as Smucker’s® jams, jellies, preserves, fruit spreads and ice cream toppings; Jif® peanut butter; Crisco® oils, shortening and sprays; Eagle Brand® sweetened condensed milk; and Pillsbury® baking mixes, ready-to-spread frosting and flour. For more information and delicious recipes, please visit www.smuckers.com, www.jif.com, www.crisco.com, www.eaglebrand.com and www.pillsburybaking.com.

Eggland’s Best is the No. 1 branded egg in the U.S. They are the recipients of many awards including the Gold Medal for superior taste, appearance and freshness from The American Masters of Taste; The Best Tasting Egg in America from the American Culinary Chefs Best for six consecutive years (2002-2008); the Good Housekeeping Seal from the publication’s Good Housekeeping Research Institute; the Men’s Health Top Pick as the Best Eggs in their Nutrition Awards for three consecutive years; the Best Eggs according to the Women’s Health 2007 Best Foods list; The Crystal Egg Award from the International Egg Commission; and the National Health & Wellness Club Stamp of Approval for flavor, quality and nutrition. In 2007, Eggland’s Best became the official egg of the 43rd Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest and will be the official egg of the upcoming 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off in 2009. The distinctive “EB” stamp on the shell assures consumers that the eggs meet the highest standards of taste, nutrition and quality. Eggland’s Best hens are fed a strictly controlled, high-quality, all- natural, all-vegetarian diet without added hormones, antibiotics or steroids of any kind. EB eggs are available in large, cage-free and organic varieties, and are certified as Kosher. For more information, visit www.eggland.com.

Land O’Lakes, Inc., a Minnesota-based food and agriculture company, is a leading supplier of quality dairy products. In 1921, Land O’Lakes began making butter from sweet--not sour--cream. Ever since that breakthrough, the company has been a leading producer of butter and other pure, wholesome dairy products that deliver simple goodness to consumers. Today, the tradition of innovation continues with a complete line up of butter and spreads products. Visit www.landolakes.com anytime for great recipes and meal ideas.

Since 1920, Fisher® Nuts has prided itself in providing only the freshest and highest quality nuts. Today, Fisher® Nuts continues its tradition of excellence as a John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (JBSS) brand. A favorite with at- home chefs looking for an easy and nutritious way to add flavor and pizzazz to any dish, Fisher® Chef’s Naturals ® Baking Nuts provide delicious baking and cooking ingredients, making everyday meals extraordinary. Fisher® Snack Nuts offer crunchy freshness and dry roasted flavor for a healthier, delicious snack any time of the day. Fisher’s fresh and delicious products can be found in stores and supermarkets under the Fisher®, Fisher® Chef’s Naturals® and Sunshine Country® brand names. For more information on Fisher Nuts, please visit www.fishernuts.com.

The HERSHEY Company, the largest North American manufacturer of quality chocolate products, also provides a wide variety of baking products for consumers and foodservice operators. The HERSHEY Company is proud to offer quality baking cocoa, baking chocolate and baking chips and pieces under the Hershey’s®, Reese’s®, Heath®, Heath® Bits’o Brickle® Mini Kisses® and Special Dark® brands. With such a variety of forms and flavors, making dessert a memorable occasion has never been easier or more certain! For more information, consumers may visit www.hersheyskitchens.com.



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