Do you think you have what it takes to help choose the next winner of the Tillamook Cheese Factory Grilled Cheese Recipe Contest? Tell us why and you could be part of the judges’ panel, spending your Saturday tasting yummy recipes from our three finalists then telling the world whose recipe reigns the cheesiest!

How to Enter
1) Send an email to fans@tillamook.com and tell us why you deserve to be one of the judges for this year’s cook-off. Whether it’s your love for Tillamook Cheese, an eye for the perfect grill mark, an obsession with grilled cheese – or all three! – we want to know!
2) Submit your entry by midnight on Monday, April 15.

The winner will be selected and notified no later than Friday, April 19. The contest cook-off will take place at the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook, Oregon on Saturday, April 27. See official rules here.

Good luck!

By Loafy

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 21^st 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 2^nd 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!

By Susan P.

Photo: Flickr, Kthread

Do you think you have what it takes to help choose the next winner of the Tillamook Cheese Factory Grilled Cheese Recipe Contest? Tell us why and you could be part of the judges’ panel, spending your Saturday tasting yummy recipes from our three finalists then telling the world whose recipe reigns the cheesiest!

How to Enter

• Send an email to fans@tillamook.com and tell us why you deserve to be one of the judges for this year’s cookoff. Whether it’s your love for Tillamook Cheese, an eye for the perfect grill mark, an obsession with grilled cheese – or all three! – we want to know!
• Submit your entry by midnight on Monday, April 9.

The winner will be selected and notified no later than Friday, April 13. The contest cookoff will take place at the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook, Oregon on Saturday, April 21. See officials rules here.

Good luck!

By Loafy

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 Recipe Contest! From March 16th through April 9th, 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 21st at the Cheese Factory.  A panel of judges including chefs, local personalities, 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.

How to enter

Three easy ways:

• E-mail your name, city, daytime phone number and grilled cheese recipe to grilledcheesecontest@tillamook.com, or
• Stop by the Cheese Factory for an entry form, fill it out and return it there, or
• Print out an entry form and mail it to us!

But hurry – deadline for entries is midnight, Monday, April 9th.  Click here for all the contest details!

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 to the Loaf Life blog and Facebook!

By Tillamook

Carol Abrogoua, winner of the 1st Annual Tillamook Cheese Factory Grilled Cheese Contest

The three finalists in our 1st Annual Tillamook Cheese Factory Grilled Cheese Contest competed last Saturday, April 23rd at the Cheese Factory to determine who among them makes the best darned Tillamook grilled cheese sandwich. From a field of 48 entries, narrowed to 10 semi-finalists, three grilled cheese lovin’ finalists did their best to impress six judges. And impress they did with three very different, unique, and cheesy recipes.

Karen Bernards of McMinnville, OR brought her Garlic Ranch Chicken Melt, with lots of Tillamook Garlic White CheddarCheese, while Courtney Lund of Salem, OR grilled a cool, zesty Cilantro Lime-Spice Grilled Cheese with our Pepper Jack and Swiss. But, at the end of the day, the sweet and savory Ooey Gooey Maple Fruity Grilled Cheesewalked away with the $500 Grand Prize, along with 24 pounds of Tillamook Cheese and a gift basket chock-full of Tillamook Goodies. Carol Abrogoua from Tillamook, the sandwich’s creator, packed plenty of the World’s Best Medium Cheddar and America’s Best Monterey Jack between thick sliced sweet Hawaiian rolls, then added maple bacon and crisp Granny Smith apple slices for a delicious winning combination!

Visitors at the Cheese Factory sampled all three of the contestants’ sandwiches and voted for the People’s Choice Award. While the voting was closer than close, Carol’s sandwich also took the People’s Choice prize home – another goodie basket and $100 in cash. As you can see from Carol’s smile, she was one excited and happy winner!

Thanks for celebrating National Grilled Cheese Month with us this April! We look forward to next year!

By Susan P.