Celebrating great food and flavors from coast to coast, General Mills Foodservice announced the five Regional Winners in its 4th Annual Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest, which gives independent family or “neighborhood” restaurants and food trucks the chance to win up to $80,000 in cash and prizes and bring hometown pride to their communities. The Grand Prize Recipe Winner will be named from among the five Regional Winners in late August.

The only foodservice recipe contest of its kind, the 2018 Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest honors five Regional Recipe Winners who each receive $5,000 in cash and an additional $1,000 to share with a local charity of their choice. This year’s contest was the first to include food trucks as well as more traditional establishments. One of the five regional winners will also be named the Grand Prize Recipe Winner and receive an additional $25,000 in cash and $5,000 to share with a charity as well as a three-day trip for two to the Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival, the premier food and wine event celebrating America’s favorite foods.

This year’s Regional Winners are:

• Bryan Bennett, South Central Region, Manager and Chef, Back Street Food Truck in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for his Sea Salt Caramel Bacon Pecan Pie;
• Dennis Chan, South East Region, Chef and Owner, Blue Bamboo in Jacksonville, Florida, for his Sunshine State Orange Crunch Cake;
• Dan Duris, North East Region, Co-owner and Chef, Gypsy Café in Lincoln, New Hampshire, for his Bacon Corn Johnny Cakes with Maple Drizzle;
• Anne Klingler, North Central Region, Chef and Owner, Outlanders in Marquette, Michigan, for her Thai Basil Bowl;
• Nick Shipp, West Region, Executive Chef and Partner, Upper West Restaurant in Santa Monica, California, for his Mushroom Tart with Tomato Jam, Goat Cheese and Fresh Oregano.

“Local restaurants play such an important part in their communities, and we love shining the spotlight on their vast talent and creativity with this special contest,” says Alyca Judge, senior marketing manager for General Mills Foodservice.  “Each of these finalists did an amazing job of honoring local flavors and traditions with some fantastic twists, and we continue to be impressed by their inspired use of General Mills products in these mouth-watering creations.”

Recipes for the Neighborhood to Nation Recipes Contest were judged based on taste, appearance, creativity and foodservice viability. General Mills will travel to the Regional Recipe Winners’ hometowns, and the winners’ staff, customers and community will be invited to a special check presentation and celebratory event. The Grand Prize Recipe Winner will be determined by comparing the total scores for each of the five Regional Winner recipes and will be announced in late August after each of the winners’ Regional hometown celebrations take place.

“Neighborhood to Nation is one of our favorite events of the year, because we get to connect with amazing restaurant owners and chefs while enjoying some outstanding food,” adds Judge.  “This year’s finalists continued to raise the bar.”

Neighborhood to Nation was created to inspire culinary creativity among independent restaurants and food trucks, giving operators an opportunity to experiment with high-quality and consistent products from General Mills Foodservice as well as exclusive access to trend information, insights and ideas to help them differentiate their menus and delight their diners.