Think you’re the next great cookbook author? Rachael Ray launched “The Great American Cookbook Competition” This is your opportunity to show off your recipes along with your original book concept in a competition that will land one lucky winner a book contract, a culinary trip to Cancun, Mexico, a suite of GE kitchen appliances and other great prizes!
Eligibility: US, DC, 18 or older (or the age of majority in your state of residence, whichever is older)
You must be available to travel to New York City at various times during the period April 6, You must not be a published cookbook author, i.e., you must not have had a cookbook previously published (or in the process of being published) by an established publishing house, or self-published online or through a third party self-publishing company. (You are still eligible if you have only contributed to a cookbook anthology or had recipes published in a magazine.) You must not have attended culinary school for more than 12 months, either consecutively or cumulatively. You must be the sole author of your submitted recipes and ideas (you cannot enter as a co-author) and all of your recipes and ideas must be your original creations. 2014 – May 9, 2014 if selected as a Finalist in order to compete in the final Studio Challenge rounds as set forth below. (Basic expenses of trip shall be paid for by Sponsor.) You must not have a record or prior history of criminal arrest or conviction (misdemeanor traffic violations excluded).
Entry Dates: entries due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday January 14, 2014.
Website Entry | Official Rules
To enter the Rachael Ray cookbook challenge, tell about yourself, your cooking philosophy and how your can-do, problem-solving attitude is reflected in your recipes and/or cooking style (in 250 words or less).
Book Concept – Describe what your cookbook will be about and include your suggested book title, if any (in 150 words or less).
Recipes – Provide three (3) full original recipes that best showcase your book concept.
Video – Upload a video (no longer than 3 minutes) featuring you and one of your submitted recipes: include (i) a demonstration (or partial demonstration) of you preparing the submitted recipe; (ii) presentation of the finished recipe dish (we want to see what the final dish looks like); and (iii) a brief explanation of what your cookbook will be about.
Entry Limit: one entry per person.
One Grand Prize Package worth over $20,000:
1) Book contract to publish a cookbook with Rachael Ray Books, an imprint of The Atria Publishing Group ($5,000)
2) GE Kitchen Appliance Suite including a French Door Refrigerator, Double Oven Range and Dishwasher (ARV $7,297 – $7,797)
3) A Trip for Two to Cancun, Mexico from Liberty Travel (ARV $6,930)
4) An appearance on the syndicated television talk show, “Rachael Ray”
5) A print article about Winner and his/her cookbook in Every Day With Rachael Ray Magazine
6) A webisode featuring Winner on RachaelRayShow.com
7) Assortment of Rachael Ray cookware, bakeware and tableware (ARV $910)
Four Runner-up Finalists Prizes:
1) A Trip for Two to Cancun, Mexico from Liberty Travel (ARV $6,930)
2) A webisode (as defined below) featuring Finalist on the Series Website
3) Assortment of Rachael Ray cookware, bakeware and tableware (ARV $910)
Contest entries will be reviewed and judged in a series of initial rounds as set forth below. The top twenty (20) contestants will be interviewed by phone and judged on their answers. Ten (10) Semi-Finalists will be selected and asked to submit additional recipes for another round of judging. Then Five (5) Finalists will be selected and have the opportunity to move on and compete in a series of four (4) Studio Challenges to determine the Grand Prize Winner as set forth below.
Initial Judging Rounds:
The Videos will be judged on the following criteria:
- • culinary skill demonstrated (25%)
- appeal of recipe presented (25%)
- appeal of book idea (25%)
- overall appeal of video presentation (25%)
The thirty (30) contestants with the highest scores will move on to next round of judging
The Essay, Book Concept and Recipes of the Top 30 contestants will be reviewed on the following criteria:
- Originality of cooking philosophy, book concept and/or recipes (33 1/3 %)
- Creativity of cooking philosophy, book concept and/or recipes (33 1/3 %)
- Clarity of cooking philosophy, book concept and/or recipes (33 1/3 %)
The twenty (20) contestants with the highest scores will move on to next round of judging
RR Judges will conduct phone interviews with each of the Top 20 contestants sometime during the period February 10, 2014 – February 20, 2014. Contestants will be judged on the following criteria:
- ability to communicate their cooking philosophy (33 1/3 %)
- ability to communicate their book concept (33 1/3 %)
- ability to communicate their personality and enthusiasm (33 1/3 %)
The ten (10) contestants with the highest scores will be notified on or about February 21, 2014 that they are eligible to move on to the Semi-Finalist round of judging.
Semi-Finalist Round: The ten (10) Semi-Finalists will be asked to submit a minimum of ten (10) additional full recipes plus ten (10) additional recipe titles by end of day March 10, 2014 and judged on the following criteria:
- Originality of cooking philosophy, book concept and/or recipes (33 1/3 %)
- Creativity of cooking philosophy, book concept and/or recipes (33 1/3 %)
- Clarity of cooking philosophy, book concept and/or recipes (33 1/3 %)
The five (5) Semi-Finalists with the highest scores will be notified on or about April 1, 2014 and will have the opportunity to compete in the Finalist Studio Challenges in New York City
Finalist Studio Challenges: The five (5) Finalists will compete in Studio Challenges that will take place at the Rachael Ray studio in New York City during various dates between April 6, 2014 and May 9, 2014. Finalists must be available and willing to travel to New York City multiple times during such period to compete in the Studio challenges.
There will be a total of four (4) studio challenges during the period April 6 – May 9, 2014 All of the Studio Challenges will be taped before a live studio audience for possible future broadcast on the Series.
I am a retired Executive Corpor4ate Chef. I read with great interest the rules for the recipe contest. I am unable to travel because of dialysis treatments but I am interested in publishing my cookbook/autobiography that I have been working on for4 t5he past5 ten years. You can read about it on my web sight chefrandy.org. If inter4ested please cdontact me at [email protected]. Thanks!
We are almost ready to film but would like to know if it can be a duo. I see that the recipes need to be individually written and that’s fine, both of us write our own but the process after the first recipe is written tends to be two of us and we have combined what we both invisioned as a cook book. We would appreciate the opportunity.
Thanks you!
Dear Raychel,
My daughter Jennifer is gifted in the kitchen. She does not always follow through.
She did not hear of your contest until the day before. She wrote 3 recipes. Her challenge was the video because she has never made one before. She thought the videot comical! She had trouble getting it complete and she missed the deadline. She is sending the 3 recipes eventhough she did not meet the deadline incase a miracle occurs and someone helps her send her video.
Love You Raychel.,
Linda Richardson