|
|
|
The internet's premier web site
dedicated to competitive cooking and recipe contests.
Established in 1997
|
Backstage at the 2000 Pillsbury Bakeoff
|
The Pillsbury Bakeoff is the mother of all cooking contests, and the 2000 event was the mother of all Bakeoffs...with a cool $1 million Grand Prize to celebrate the contest's 50th anniversary.
But even if you don't win the big money, just being a Finalist is a prize in it's own right. Just ask anyone who has ever been chosen to attend several days of fun and competition in the semi-annual contest.
In fact, that's exactly what CCCentral did... we asked four of our regulars, who were Finalists for the 2000 Bakeoff in San Francisco to tell us what it's like to attend the creme de la creme of cooking contests.
Here are their reports:
|
Not only was this my first time at being a finalist in any contest but alsothe first time entering the Pillsbury Bake-Off!!! So it was quite an experience for me.
I live in the S.F. Bay Area, so all I did was drive 45 minutes to the Marriott. The hotel and service was first class, along with all the hospitality from Pillsbury! The food served to us was fabulous. The award ceremony was exciting. I never really had thought about it before, but I'd never been at or on a TV show before, so that was fun, too.
Mostly, though, I enjoyed talking with other finalists and hearing how excited they
were when notified by Pillsbury of being a finalist. The camaraderie was
great among finalists. everyone was complimentary of each other's recipes
and very supportive. I'd love to go again!
|
| Julie Stutzman
|
| Turkey-Mango Picadillo Wraps
|
It was great to meet all the others from the forum and also make new friends from all over the country. Everyone was so friendly and so excited to be there, the air seemed charged with electricity.
I am so impressed with Pillsbury's attention to every detail! Just two personal examples: During the Bake-off orientation, my husband wanted to leave the hotel, but remembered that I had no room key with me. He talked to a Pillsbury staffer, and they had someone standing at each exit door when the orientation session let out, looking at everyone's name tag until they found me to give me the key. Then, on departure, we discovered when we got to the airport that we had left one bag behind, and they radioed to the hotel lobby, had it found and on the next bus out without missing a beat.
Everything all weekend was handled beautifully, and you truly could have gone without a cent in your pocket and never felt the lack of it. All the meals were fabulous; each time the tables were decorated beautifully according to a different theme, and everything possible was done to make everyone feel comfortable at all times.
Bakeoff day was great -- everything went really smoothly. I got my first batch in to the judges and was able to enjoy the rest of the day with the pressure off. The party that night was held at another hotel and was really lavish, with spectacular decorations, a big variety of stations serving all different kinds of wonderful food, a mime, pictures taken on a doughboy-driven cable car, chinese fans hand-painted for you while you waited, and a dance contest (George and Sally Pillsbury were out on the floor jitterbugging at one point!)
Even on the morning of the awards presentation, care was taken to try to ease the tension, with a stand-up comedian to lighten things up just before the telecast began. It all combined to make you leave with a fervent desireto get back to participate in another. My husband, who, other than being inordinately proud of me, has not gotten too involved in this contest business before, had such a good time that he was suggesting new recipe ideas for next time during our long flight back!
I may never get to go again, but it certainly won't be for lack of trying! Thanks to everyone for all the support and good advice. Now it's time to come back down to earth.
|
| Claudia Shepardson
|
| Orange-Glazed Cranberry Crowns
|
The call from the Pillsbury company that I got the day after Thanksgiving is the call every cook dreams of getting. Pillsbury sets about establishing each contestant's celebrity from the very first contact, and they do a very good job of it!
The entire experience was flawless thanks to Pillsbury and General Electric. The week we left for the bake-off I was fortunate enough to have my new Advantium oven installed, compliments of GE.
Everything that can possibly be done by Pillsbury to make sure that we felt like the very most important people at every event was taken care of. It was also fun to see the respect we received from the general public when we were wearing our contestant badges. It became obvious that we had truly achieved a coveted goal when you heard people on the street whispering that we must actually be one of the contestants for Pillsbury. Makes me wish I could keep wearing that badge!
San Francisco was beautiful. The meals (and lots of them) that we were served were excellent! They really gave us a taste of the area with lots of fresh seafood, Asian specialties, and, of course, sourdough bread.
I have been to other cook-offs, but this was the first one that I had established acquaintances on the CCC Forum ahead of time. This was the first trip to The Pillsbury Bake-Off for all of us. We went to San Francisco knowing each others' names and that we shared a love of good food and creating recipes. We left feeling we knew each other and had made lifetime friends. You should have seen our excitement as we found each other one by one in the hundreds of contestants and guests.
Although none of us Forum gals won cash, we left San Franciso with a bag full of Pillsbury goodies, our Advantium ovens in our kitchens, memories of a wonderful trip, a celebrity status in our communities, about 5 extra pounds on our hips, and a bunch of wonderful new friendships between people that share a common hobby! Not bad for the losers, huh?
|
| Diane Sparrow
|
| Picadillo Pies
|
First of all, let me say it was an incredible experience. ALL of the recipes looked and tasted out of this world. I too was a bit wrong on my finalists guesses.
After meeting most of the women, I would have been thrilled for anyone who
entered.
It was awesome to meet DS, Claudia, Christie, and Julie S. I also ran into Debra who had won a trip to the Bake-off. What great women.
This was probably the highlight of my whole trip -- not to mention the food. Meeting the forum women was like looking up an old friend. I guess I just can't come up with the words to describe the whole experience. My nerves were absolutely shot by
the time this morning came around. It was a great relief to have it done and over. I did enjoy every moment.
I'm truly happy for all the winners. They created some great recipes as did all of the finalists, I must admit. Thanks for all of your great support. I hope to someday meet the rest of you... at another bakeoff, perhaps.
|
| Janet Barton
|
| Cappuccino Crunch Muffins
|
Hello, everyone! The Bake-Off was so great.
It was such fun to be treated like a celebrity. They thought of everything. And they did all kinds of things just to boost our confidence, help get rid of our nervousness, and help us feel comfortable. For example, they had a little gift delivered to our rooms the night before the Bake-Off, and I think Claudia mentioned that they had a stand-up comic to entertain us while we were waiting for the announcement of the winners.
And it was great to meet so many wonderful, interesting people (especially Janet, Claudia, Diane, and Julie -- by the way, congratulations Julie, on being one of the 20 finalists in the Dezzerts.com contest, and to you Claudia on being their dessert of the month!!). It was so much fun, I'm already working on ideas for the next one. I'd love to be able to go again sometime.
It's good to be home, though. We got home very late on Tuesday (our flight was cancelled and our luggage arrived later than we did -- UGHH). That's why it took so long to get on the forum and say hi to you guys. Thanks for all the support. And good luck in the contests you're working on (or waiting to hear back on).
|
| Christie Blankfield
|
| Peanut Butter-Honey Brownies
|
 |
|