General Mills Foodservice announced the return of the Neighborhood to Nation Restaurant Recipe Contest that will award $100,000 to restaurants and food trucks nationwide. The annual contest, which celebrates independent restaurants and their one-of-a-kind dishes, is accepting entries for original recipes that use at least one item from General Mills’ list of eligible products from August 1 until September 30.

Acknowledging the current challenging times for restaurants, General Mills modified the 6th annual recipe contest to make it easier for restaurants to submit an entry and to provide more opportunities to win much-needed cash and marketing support for their business. This year’s Neighborhood to Nation Contest will double the number of winners to award 20 prizes of $5,000 in cash along with a robust marketing package. In addition, a social media vote allows restaurants to rally the support of their patrons for a chance to be the “People’s Choice” Grand Prize Winner for an additional VIP marketing package, a menu consultation with General Mills’ culinary team and a $5,000 donation for their local food bank.

“We’ve all seen the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the restaurant industry, which makes it even more important to recognize the independent eateries that mean so much to their local communities and show our support,” says Alyca Judge, senior marketing manager for General Mills Foodservice. “We are excited about the changes to this year’s contest which allow us to honor more restaurants than ever before and celebrate the dishes that are working best to serve these restaurants and their local community.”

General Mills Foodservice, which partners with restaurants to provide back-of-house products, recipe inspiration and culinary support, created the contest to celebrate the creativity and passion of independent operators. New this year, entrants simply need to upload a photo of their recipe and briefly share how they used a General Mills’ product in a creative way or the inspiration behind the recipe.

“We wanted to simplify the application but also use this an opportunity to learn about what recipes are working best for restaurants right now, whether it’s dishes that bring comfort and joy to their patrons or those that make it easier to serve patrons in an efficient and safe way in this new world of takeout and curbside delivery,” says Judge. “As the industry adapts to the current times, we hope the Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest will provide restaurants and food trucks with some menu inspiration and showcase how General Mills’ products can be part of the solution.”

Judge adds that, whether it’s a signature recipe or a completely new dish, there is a long list of eligible products for restaurants and food trucks to experiment with for their recipe entry. The list includes: Pillsbury™ (biscuits, puff pastry, pie dough and frozen baked goods), Gold Medal™ (baking mixes), Yoplait® (yogurt) and many of our heritage flour brands. An added bonus: the first 100 eligible entrants will receive fun Pillsbury Doughboy items and marketing materials to help them promote their recipe with patrons.

Contest Details

The Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest is open to foodservice operators, chefs and line cooks who develop recipes for menu items served at independent, commercial restaurants or food trucks. From Aug. 1 to Sept. 30, 2020, participants may log on to www.neighborhoodtonation.com to submit a photo of a recipe using at least one ingredient from General Mills Foodservice’s participating brands and a brief description of how they used the product in a creative way, how they were inspired to create the recipe or how their dish brings comfort and joy to their patrons during this challenging time.

The top entrants will be asked to submit their recipe details to be tested, tasted and photographed for PR, media and social media. Recipes will be judged based on taste, appearance, creativity and foodservice viability. Winners will be announced in January 2021 to coincide with the activation of the social media voting portion of the contest when the public will be invited to help determine the “People’s Choice” Grand Prize winner.

For more information on eligibility, complete contest details and the official contest rules, restaurants should contact their General Mills Foodservice representative, call 1.800.215.6120 or visit www.NeighborhoodtoNation.com.