Livingston Parish 4-H Food Festival
Lewis Vincent Elementary
January 11, 2011

Registration: 6:00 p.m.-6:15 p.m.
Judging: 6:15 p.m.
Special Program/Activities: 6:15 p.m.

General Rules:

*Each 4-H member may enter only one dish in each contest. (Example: one seafood, one egg, one beef, and one poultry dish.)

*Members may submit one serving of their dish for judging. However, the whole dish may also be entered.

*Parish winners will go on to area competition. No one except contest officials will be allowed in contest area while judging is in
  progress.

*All dishes must be prepared at home and brought to the contest ready for the judges to taste. Microwaves will be available for judges to reheat entries if necessary.

*All contestants must have two copies of their recipes (use the form provided); one with name and one without name.

*Recipe must include an estimate of calories per serving and cost per serving. Calories per serving should be 500 calories or less.

*Please follow the food safety guidelines as listed below. Dishes will be disqualified if they do not arrive at the contest completely cold and packed in ice or an insulated ice chest. This is necessary for food safety.

· Special note about food transport items such as ice chests: insulated pharmaceutical and floral boxes, etc. are not considered
acceptable for transportation of food. Any entry transported in an insulated container not designed to transport food for human consumption will be
disqualified.
· Anything used to enhance the appearance of the dish must be in or on the serving container. Example of items not allowed:  
placemats, flowers and table arrangements, figurines, etc.
· Follow the guidelines for the correct recipe format.
· The highest scoring dish in each division exhibited by a Livingston Parish 4-H member will compete in the Area Cookery  
Contest in the spring.

Dietary Guidelines:

Care should be taken that added ingredients and preparation methods do not contribute excessive amounts of fat and sodium. Consider the nutritional aspects of all the ingredients in your recipe. Explain in your recipe any changes you make in your ingredients of preparation methods to modify fat or sodium.

Tips you might try to lower fat:

o Make lower fat food or ingredient choices. For example, you might…
   Choose:                                                  Instead of:
   Low-fat or skim milk                              Whole milk
   Low-fat or nonfat yogurt                      Regular yogurt or sour cream
   Reduced calorie margarine                   Butter or regular margarine
   Oil                                                             Solid shortening
   Lean ground beef                                   Regular ground beef
   Reduced calorie mayonnaise                Regular mayonnaise

Reduce the oil in recipes. Start by reducing it by 1/4. For example, if the recipe calls for one cup of oil, use 3/4 cup. Frying adds extra fat. It is best to choose another method of preparation such as baking, broiling, grilling or steaming.

Tips you might try to lower sodium:

Salt is our major source of sodium and is needed for healthy bodies. But too much salt can be harmful. Salt in recipes can be reduced by one-half without affecting the taste. Try reducing the salt in your recipe. Canned vegetables and soups are high in sodium. Choose canned soups labeled “1/3 less salt” or “no salt  added.” Choose fresh or frozen vegetables or canned vegetables with reduced salt or sodium.

Food Safety:

Food safety is an important consideration. The risk of food-borne illness greatly increases when foods are held at room temperature for extended periods. Therefore, the dish should be prepared and chilled in the refrigerator temperature and transported on ice in an ice chest to the contest. DISHES NOT CHILLED AND TRANSPORTED IN THIS WAY WILL BE DISQUALIFIED BY CONTEST OFFICIALS. Entries that need to be heated to taste their best will be heated at the time of judging.

Recipe Format:
Be sure your recipe is written correctly. The recipe should include the following parts:
· Name of recipe.
· Ingredients listed in order used in instructions. No brand names my be used.
· Clear instruction for combining ingredients given.
· Size of pan stated.
· Temperature and cooking time stated.
· Number of servings given.
· Dish meets contest and division requirements.

Special recipe format requirements for contestants entering one of the Beef Cookery Contests:
In the Beef Cookery Contest, each category requires special items listed on the recipe, i.e. Low-Calorie Main Dish requires special items listed for each ingredient and calories per serving listed. Place your name, grade and school on back of your recipe form.

Scoring Factors: (100 points total)

1. Recipe – 20 points (Recipe form is on back page.)
*Does the recipe state the name of the dish?
*Does the recipe meet the contest and division requirements?
*Does the recipe contain clear instructions?

2. Taste – 50 points
*Does the finished dish have flavor that appeals to most people?
*Do the flavors blend together?

3. Appearance – 15 points
*Does the finished dish look appetizing?
*Garnishes and accompaniments will not be considered in scoring.

4. Ease of Preparation – 15 points
*Procedure is relatively uncomplicated.Place your name, grade, and school on back of your recipe.

Egg Cookery Contest

Categories:
1. Appetizer/Salad
2. Main Dish
3. Dessert

Ideas for Egg Division entries:
*Appetizers – egg dip, deviled eggs, bacon stuffed eggs, egg ball.
*Salad – seafood salad, meat salad, chef salad, potato salad, egg salad, macaroni salad.
*Main Dishes – casseroles, eggs and meat, eggs and seafood, eggs and cheese, omelet, quiche.
*Desserts – cakes, custards, tarts, ice cream, bread pudding, pie.

General Requirements:
Each dish must contain a minimum of four eggs. This can be four egg whites, four egg yolks, four whole eggs or any combination, as long as four eggs are broken. The recipe with four eggs must make only one standard size dish. For example, a recipe with four eggs that makes two pies of standard size will not qualify. No raw eggs will be allowed in the final product. The recipe should include an estimate of calories per serving and cost per serving.

Poultry Cookery Contest

Categories/General Requirements:
1. Chicken – a dish which contains a minimum of two pounds bone-in chicken or one pound de-boned chicken meat. Chicken includes any of the following: fryer, capon, roaster, broiler, baking hen, or Cornish hen.
 2. Process Poultry Products – a dish which includes a minimum of 12 oz. of processed poultry products. Examples include:
 ground turkey, turkey bacon, turkey sausage, smoked turkey, turkey ham, turkey rolls, ground chicken, chicken nugget,
 chicken franks, smoked chicken, chicken strips and canned chicken. All dishes containing any turkey item, (whole, part or
 processed) should be entered in this division.
 3. Other Poultry Meats – a dish which contains a minimum of two pounds bone-in or one pound de-boned poultry meat from a
 bird other than chicken or turkeys. You may choose poultry meat from any of the following: duck, quail, pheasant, pigeon,
 guinea, goose, grouse, ostrich, emu or dove.

*The recipe should include an estimate of calories per serving and cost per serving.

Seafood Cookery Contest

Categories:
1. Oyster
2. Crab
3. Shrimp
4. Fish or Other Seafood
5. Crawfish

General Requirements:
1. Bring a prepared seafood dish to the contest. The dish must use at least one cup of seafood. The seafood must
    be fresh, frozen, pasteurized or dried. Canned seafood is not acceptable. Surimi, an artificial crab made from fish,
    cannot be used. There can be no raw seafood in the final dish. Entries in divisions 1 and 5 may contain a small
    amount of a second seafood but not more than half of the amount of the primary seafood. For example, a recipe
    could contain one cup of crab as the primary seafood and one half cup of shrimp as the secondary seafood. All
    seafood   used in the contest must be listed on the attached Louisiana Seafood List.
2. *The recipe should include an estimate of calories per serving and cost per serving.

Beef Cookery Contest

Categories:
1. Low-Calorie Main Dish – a dish which provides less than 300 calories per serving. Calculation of calories must be stated on recipe. Use “Calories and Weight, the USDA Pocket Guide.” Calculate also the number of calories per serving. Use 1000 calories per pound of beef if raw beef is used. Use 850 calories per pound if beef is browned and drained before adding to dish.
2. Quick and Easy Main Dish – a dish that is ready to serve in less than one hour. Simplicity of steps is very important. The time for each step and for cooking or baking must be stated on recipe.
3. One-Dish Meal – a dish that provides foods from at least three of the main food groups from “My Pyramid.” Foods and  food groups will be stated on recipe.

*The recipe should include an estimate of calories per serving and cost per serving.

General Requirements:
Bring to the contest a prepared ground meat dish. A minimum of one pound of ground beef must be used. 

*The recipe should include an estimate of calories per serving and cost per serving.

“Just For Fun” Categories

*There will be no area or state competition for the “Just for Fun” categories.

Categories:

My Favorite Dish"
1. Dessert
2. Game
3. Other

Recipe Evaluation:

1. Name of recipe stated.
2. Ingredients listed in order used in the instructions.
3. Include size and weight of cans, packages, etc. (Examples: 10 ¾ ounce can of cream of mushroom soup, two ounce package of      
chili seasoning.)
4. Clear instructions.
a. Do not use abbreviations; spell out measurements (i.e. use “teaspoon” instead of “tsp.”)
b. Use generic names for ingredients instead of name brands (i.e. “creole seasoning” instead of “Tony Chachere’s”, “can of diced 
tomatoes and green chilies” instead of “Rotel.”)
5. Size of pan stated (i.e. 12-inch skillet, 5 quart pot, 9  x 13 inch baking pan, large mixing bowl.)
6. Temperature and cooking time stated (i.e. “350 degrees for 45 minutes” – if using the oven or “medium heat for ten minutes” if
cooking on stove burner)
7. Number of servings given (i.e. 6-8.)
8. Dish meets contest and division requirements.