• A 4-H member may enter a dish for each category if they so choose.
• Neither siblings nor cooking companions (4-H members cooking together) can enter the same dish/recipe, even if they are not in the same age division.
• Age Divisions are 4th -5th graders, 6th -8th graders, & 9th -12th graders.
• The dish must be cooked and transported on ice in a closed “Tupperware” type disposable container with a hard top. We only need 1 to 2 servings of your dish. Please Do Not bring the entire dish, it is a waste!!
• Please bring 1-2 servings of your dish with 2 copies of the recipe to the 4-H office between 8:00 am and 5:30 pm.
  • Pecans Commodity
  • Dish must contain a minimum of one (1) cup of pecans.
  • Examples: Roasted Pecans, Pecan Pie, Sugared Pecans, Pecan-crusted Chicken, Pecan Pralines, etc.
  • Rice Commodity
    • Dish must contain a minimum of one (1) cup cooked rice.
    • Wild rice is NOT a cultivated rice in Louisiana and should not be used for this contest. Dishes containing rice products such as rice cereal, rice flour, etc. must still contain 1 cup of cooked rice to accompany the other products. Rice Krispie treats do not meet contest requirements. Examples: Jambalaya, Fried Rice, Rice Pudding, Rice-Stuffed Bell Peppers, etc.
  • Sweet Potatoes Commodity
    • Dish must contain a minimum of one (1) cup fresh, frozen, or canned sweet potatoes.
      Examples: Baked Sweet Potato, Sweet Potatoe Bisque/Soup, Sweet Potato Cupcakes, Sweet Potato Scones, etc.

Contest Categories and Requirements:

Scoring Criteria:

Taste: 70 possible points

• Does the finished dish have a flavor that appeals to most people?
• Do the flavors blend well together?

Appearance of Dish: 10 possible points

• Does the finished dish look appetizing?
• Is the product cooked correctly, or does it appear to be burnt?

Bonus Additions: 10 possible points if submitted. Must be submitted the day of the cookery contest. It will not be accepted the day after drop-off.

• Instruction pictures – at least 3 pictures must be submitted with the 4-H member completing the instructions given in the recipe. Examples: stirring the pot of cooking beef, chopping vegetables, mixing pie ingredients.
• Finished Product pictures – at least 2 pictures must be submitted of the completed dish. One picture can be the finished product as a whole and one picture needs to be a plated portion. Example: picture of the whole casserole in the dish and one picture of the casserole served on the plate ready to eat.
• Dish Summary - A paragraph summarizing the 4-H member's experience must be submitted with recipes and pictures. Minimum of 5 sentences! Does not have to be typed, but the writing does need to be legible. Examples of things to include are challenges the 4-H member had while completing the dish, skills they have learned, why they have chosen that specific recipe.
• Does the summary follow general paragraph standards? Example: Introduction sentence, 3 body sentences, and a conclusion sentence.
• Garnishments and added extra decorations will not be factored into scoring.

If you have additional questions, you can always call the office at 225-621-5799 or email sarahmoore@agcenter.lsu.edu