Tillamook Cheese Factory Grilled Cheese Contest A Huge Success!
Frances' Dreamiest Grilled Cheese Sandwich Plus took home the grand prize
The three finalists in the 2nd Annual Grilled Cheese Contest Cook-off competed last Saturday, April 21st at the Cheese Factory to determine who makes the best darned Tillamook grilled cheese sandwich on the planet. From a field of 48 entries, narrowed to 8 semi-finalists, these three grilled cheese lovin’ finalists did their best to impress six judges to take the grand prize title. And impress they did with three very different, unique and cheesy recipes.
Steve Maffin of Tillamook, OR brought his Hearty Macho Grilled Cheese, with lots of Tillamook Medium Cheddar and Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese and was our 2nd runner up. Krystal Bishop of Renton, WA competed with her Guilty Griller, a sweet and spicy delight overflowing with Pepper Jack and Provolone. But at the end of the day, the creator of the unique and savory Dreamiest Grilled Cheese Sandwich Plus walked away with the $500 grand prize, along with a gift basket chock-full of Tillamook goodies and bragging rights for the best Tillamook Grilled Cheese! Frances Benthin of Scio, OR, packed her sandwich with thick slices of Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar, added a mixture of prosciutto, roasted red pepper, Tillamook Premium Sour Cream and Pepper Jack Cheese all grilled on thick slices of hazelnut bread.
Our visitors also got into the fun by sampling all three of the contestants’ sandwiches and voting with their applause for the Audience Favorite prize. While the voting was close, Frances’ sandwich also was the favorite of our audience. She was one excited and happy winner!
Thanks for celebrating National Grilled Cheese month with us! We hope to see you at next year’s Tillamook Cheese Factory Grilled Cheese Contest!
Our six judges had a hard decision to make!
April 27th, 2012 at 9:48 am
Where do you get hazelnut bread for the Dreamiest Grilled Cheese Sandwich?
April 30th, 2012 at 10:21 am
That’s a great question! Frances brought her own hazelnut bread for the contest, but a similar and very yummy option is Franz Hazelnut bread, which can be found in local supermarkets.
~ Katy of the Tillamook Team