Foodies to Converge on WV State Fair for Recipe Challenge - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

Foodies to Converge on WV State Fair for Recipe Challenge

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FAIRLEA -

Potential food entrepreneurs from across the state will converge Aug. 12 at the State Fair of West Virginia for the seventh annual West Virginia Recipe Challenge.

The challenge pits entrants against each other for the chance to win more than $10,000 in goods and services and a chance to have their specialty food product launched in the marketplace. Existing food businesses will complete in a separate category for the chance to win a prize package valued at $2,000.

West Virginia State University Extension Service and several other partnering agencies launched the competition in 2006. The idea was to create a launch pad for emerging entrepreneurs who have dreamed of taking their home-cooked product to the grocery store shelf. 

"The contest does well in encouraging new business, so we're very excited for a new round of entries this year," Mary Legg-Moses, rural business services program coordinator with WVSU Extension Service and coordinator of the event, said in a news release. "This is a great opportunity for the state's entrepreneurs to receive hands-on assistance in getting their product into the marketplace."

The challenge consists of two categories: new entrepreneur and existing business. Prizes in the categories differ but include recipe refinement, packaging design, label development, nutritional panel creation, technical assistance, production time in a commercial kitchen, product marketing and more.

The West Virginia Recipe Challenge is a collaboration of WVSU Extension Service, the State Fair of West Virginia, Tamarack and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.

Registration currently is open for the event. Registration forms, category definitions and information about the contest are available online at grdi.wvstateu.edu/RecipeChallenge.