Rhode Island Inspired Recipe Takes Home Grand Prize
Cedar Knolls, N.J., December 13, 2016 – The results are in! After reviewing thousands and thousands of mouthwatering recipes and two rounds of consumer voting, Eggland’s Best (EB) is excited to announce the Grand Prize winner in the 2016 “America’s Best Recipe” Contest. Taking home the $10,000 Grand Prize is Valerie Szlatenyi of Wakefield, Rhode Island whose unique Johnny Cakes and Lobster Eggs Benedict recipe captured the hearts and appetites of consumers nationwide.more
“Creating my Johnny Cakes and Lobster Eggs Benedict recipe for the Eggland’s Best ‘America’s Best Recipe’ Contest has been so much fun, and I’m extremely excited to be selected as the Grand Prize Winner,” said Valerie Szlatenyi. “I’m a huge fan of Eggland’s Best, and I always make sure my family’s meals are nutritious by only including Eggland’s Best eggs.”
The Eggland’s Best “America’s Best Recipe” Contest challenged EB-enthusiasts to create unique dishes that combined great tasting and nutritious EB eggs with their favorite state-inspired ingredients.
Szlatenyi’s Johnny Cakes and Lobster Eggs Benedict recipe was inspired by Rhode Island summertime lobster bakes, which typically include corn on the cob, baked lobster, and butter. Her recipe creatively combines four Eggland’s Best Large Eggs with fresh lobster served on top of Rhode Island’s classic Johnny Cakes, which are crispy on the outside and slightly creamy inside. Grand Prize Winner Szlatenyi uses white stone ground cornmeal, a popular local item made by the state’s gristmills to make the authentic version of the Rhode Island Johnny Cake.
“The number of top-quality recipes received in this year’s contest made it our most competitive recipe contest yet, so we are extremely pleased to congratulate Valerie Szlatenyi’s on earning the title of ‘America’s Best Recipe’,” said Charlie Lanktree, President and CEO of Eggland’s Best. “The contest showed how unique local ingredients and culinary traditions combined with the better taste, better nutrition, and better freshness of Eggland’s Best eggs can make any recipe better.”
As the Grand Prize winner, Szlatenyi will be awarded $10,000 and a year supply of Eggland’s Best eggs. The first thing Szlatenyi plans to do with her Grand Prize is take her husband to their favorite Rhode Island restaurant to celebrate with an elegant dinner.
Recipes were judged based on taste, creativity and the inspiration behind the local recipe ingredients. Semi-Finalist “Best in State” winners were first selected, and then narrowed down to the top five “Best in Region” Finalists through consumer voting on the Eggland’s Best website. Eggland’s Best then called on fans again to help determine which of the five “Best in Region” recipes would earn the title of “America’s Best Recipe” and receive the Grand Prize.
The superior nutrition, taste and freshness of Eggland’s Best eggs make them a perfect addition to any recipe. Compared to ordinary eggs, Eggland’s Best eggs contain five times more vitamin D, 25 percent less saturated fat, more than double the Omega-3s, ten times more vitamin E and three times more vitamin B12. Eggland’s Best’s superior nutritional profile is due to its proprietary all-vegetarian hen feed that contains healthy grains, canola oil and a wholesome supplement of rice bran, alfalfa, sea kelp and Vitamin E. In addition, independent testing has confirmed that Eggland’s Best eggs have stronger shells, and stay fresher longer, than ordinary eggs.