Drum roll please. . . . . .
Announcing the 3^rd Annual Tillamook Cheese Factory Grilled Cheese Contest

Do you have the best tasting, creamiest melting, most unique and utterly irresistible grilled cheese sandwich recipe out there? Then enter the Tillamook Cheese Factory Grilled Cheese Contest! From March 22 through April 15, submit your one-of-a-kind recipe and you could be one of three finalists who will compete in a live cook-off on Saturday, April 27 at the Cheese Factory. A panel of judges including chefs, local personalities such as Marlynn Schotland of Urban Bliss Life, and professional cheese tasters (yes, that is a real job) will pick a winner who will get bragging rights for the best darned Tillamook Grilled Cheese sandwich on the planet – oh, and $500 and a delicious Tillamook goodie basket! There are goodie basket prizes for our runners up, too.

Three easy ways to enter:

1) E-mail your name, city, daytime phone number, and grilled cheese recipe to grilledcheesecontest@tillamook.com (check entry format for instructions on recipe format), or
2) Stop by the Cheese Factory for entry format sample and contest rules; type up your recipe and return it there, or
3) Type your recipe according to entry format and mail it to us!
4) Make sure to follow the entry format or we’ll have to disqualify your delicious recipe!

But hurry – deadline for entries is midnight, Monday, April 15. Click here for all the contest details and official rules!

You say you’re not much of a cook but still LOAF to eat Tillamook grilled cheese sandwiches? Then you will want to enter our contest to become our Celebrity “Best Tillamook Cheese Fan” judge at the recipe cook-off! Details on this contest coming soon so stay tuned as the Loaf Life Blog celebrates National Grilled Cheese month, which begins April 1!

By Susan P.

Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese won in 2010

Every two years the best cheese makers from around the globe gather in Madison, Wisconsin to compete in the World Championship Cheese Contest – the most prestigious cheese competition in the world. In 2010, Tillamook took home the prize for World’s Best Medium Cheddar Cheese, which was an incredible honor. But there is more to winning than just good tasting cheese.

Entries are judged on appearance, texture, smell, taste and a number of other categories that aim to distinguish the great from the best. Each participant submits a sample of cheese that must be a perfect representation of the category they entered. At Tillamook, our competition cheese, just like all the cheese that leaves our factory, is judged by our internal judges in the sensory department first. If tasting cheese all day sounds like fun, then this is a job for you! They taste Tillamook Cheese, Ice Cream, Yogurt, Sour Cream and Butter everyday to make sure we are delivering the best products to you and your family.

What does that mean for the contest? Although many companies craft special batches of cheese to enter, here at Tillamook, we feel that we should be judged on the same cheese we make for you everyday. That way you know, the World’s Best Medium Cheddar Cheese isn’t a special batch we created. It’s exactly what you buy in your local store.

The competition runs this week, and winners will be announced on Wednesday, March 7! If you want to get in on the action, the final round of this year’s World Championship Cheese Contest will be streamed live online at worldchampioncheese.org.

Thanks for choosing Tillamook and wish us luck!

By Matt

What a perfect day for a grilled cheese cook-off – Mom blogger style!

Got my grilled cheese and a toy - what more do I need?

Tillamook and the Loaf Love Tour invited local Orange County and Los Angeles Mom bloggers, as well as their families, for a special day of Loaf Love family fun on March 27th.  The day included face painting, balloon animals, frisbee, a special appearance from Loafy (who was a big hit with the kids!), and a good old-fashioned grilled cheese competition.

The kids battle Loafy (good thing those swords are made of balloons!)

The stakes were high (Grand Prize – a Tillamook Cookbook and a year’s supply of Tillamook Cheese) and the competition was fierce (10 of the OC’s top Mom Blogs) this weekend at Costa Mesa’s Tewinkle Park. Moms brought reinforcements (husbands, little ones, and even grandparents)  to help them choose a variety of accoutrements (asparagus, Tillamook Pepper Jack, Tillamook Medium Cheddar, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, banana peppers, zucchini, bell peppers, Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, pesto, bacon…) that combine perfectly to create the tastiest grilled cheese sandwiches. And boy oh boy, did these families deliver!

The ingredients table - getting creative!

Top winners:

Best Teamwork – Shelby Barone from OCMoms.com and her adorable family won for the variety of sandwiches they created such as “Tomato Love”, “Trees of Love”, “Surprise Sandwich” and the “Plain Jane”.

Best Teamwork Award - Shelby's family members

Most Creative – Priscilla Willis from She’s Cookin’ won for her inspired sandwich the “Spring Fever”.

Most Creative Award Winner

Best overall – This coveted prize went to Kristen Howerton of Rage Against the MiniVan. Kristen has her husband Mark to thank for the year’s supply of Tillamook Cheese. The Howerton family won the prize with his “So-Cal Delight”. They also get the prize for most excited to receive a prize!

Best Overall Award - Kristen's husband Mark

Honorable mention goes out to:

Angela Bishop of Nine More Months, Caryn Bailey of Rockin’ Mama, Jenny Klein of 3 Before 30, Resa Michelle of Making Geek Look Good, and Marcie Taylor of Suburban Mamas.

HUGE thanks to everyone for coming out and spending a sunny Sunday with us here at Tillamook Cheese! We so enjoyed meeting you and sharing some delicious grilled cheeses. See you again soon!

Aww... too many cute kid moments to count!

By Gillian