ARLINGTON, VA – The wait is over! The USA Rice Rice & Shine Recipe Contest has concluded, and the winners have been chosen.
The month-long contest, designed for school foodservice professionals, operators, and chefs, sought submissions of original breakfast recipes that featured U.S.-grown rice to inspire increased usage of rice during that meal part in the K-12 sector. The contest received submissions representing at least fifteen school districts across the country.
Each recipe was evaluated by members of the USA Rice K-12 Chef Advisory Board with scoring based on presentation (including visual aesthetics and ease of replication), innovation (like creativity), and suitability for school menus (i.e., aligning with nutrition guidelines and feasibility for large-scale school prep).
After careful consideration by the judges, first-place was awarded to Amanda Waits of Indiana for her
Breakfast Baked Rice; second-place goes to Ron Jones of South Carolina for his
Rice Pudding Parfait; and third-place goes to Catherin Easton of New York for her
Breakfast Fried Rice. Dawn Kelley of Indiana with her
Potawatomi Berry Rice recipe was selected as the contest’s honorable mention.
The three winners will each receive commercial rice cookers from USA Rice and be highlighted on the organization’s social media. The winning recipes will also be featured in the USA Rice K-12 cookbook,
Reimagined Rice Meals for Schools and added to the ThinkRice recipe database on thinkrice.com.
“The K-12 sector is a significant avenue for rice consumption and it’s important that we keep finding new ways to engage with these operators,” said Cameron Jacobs, USA Rice vice president of domestic promotion. “Fun promotions like the Rice & Shine contest not only provide the industry with more touchpoints for increased exposure of USA Rice with school nutrition professionals responsible for menu planning but also help showcase that rice’s versatility isn’t just limited to school lunch.”