47th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest will award $1 million to a talented home cook

MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest unveiled the 100 creative home cooks who will compete this fall for more than $1.3 million in cash and prizes. The 47^th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest will take place on Monday, November 3, 2014 in Nashville, Tenn.

Meet the finalists
The 100 finalists chosen to compete in this year's Contest hail from 32 different states. California boasts the highest number of finalists, 17, while Pennsylvania comes in second with 10. One competitor lives within miles of the host city, Nashville; another will travel more than 4,000 miles from Koloa, Hawaii to compete at this year's event.

The group consists of four males and 96 females who range in age from 28 to 89 years old. A list of all 100 finalists is now available online at www.BakeOff.com.

"The Bake-Off® Contest has long epitomized the way America cooks. As the demand for easy-to-make meal solutions increases, this year, we challenged contest fans to create original recipes that use no more than seven ingredients and take 30 minutes or less to prepare," said Jann Atkins, Bake-Off® Kitchens Manager. "The creative recipes that advanced to the Contest finals demonstrate that great tasting dinners, breakfasts, appetizers and desserts do not have to be difficult to make."

The largest purse in competitive cooking is up for grabs
In addition to the Contest's unparalleled grand prize of $1 million plus $10,000 in GE kitchen appliances, the 100 finalists will be competing for eight special awards:

• The GE Imagination At Work Award recognizes the finalist who has the most innovative recipe with $5,000 in GE kitchen appliances.
• The Jif® Peanut Butter Award recognizes the finalist who has the best recipe using at least 1/4 cup of Jif® Peanut Butter.
• The Crisco is Cooking™ Award recognizes the finalist who has the best recipe using at least one tablespoon of Crisco® Cooking Oil or at least one tablespoon of Crisco® Baking Sticks All-Vegetable Shortening.
• The Eagle Brand® Signature Recipe Award recognizes the finalist who has the best recipe using one 14-ounce can of Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk.
• The Pillsbury® Gluten Free Award recognizes the finalist who has the best recipe that uses a Pillsbury® Gluten Free product and does not contain wheat or any products that include wheat as an ingredient.
• The Pillsbury® Clever Twist Award recognizes the finalist who has the recipe deemed by the judges as the most clever twist on a family favorite dish.
• The Watkins™ Vanilla Award recognizes the finalist who has the best recipe using at least 1/4 teaspoon of Watkins Vanilla Extract.
• The Reynolds® Baking Magic Award recognizes the finalist who has the recipe deemed by the judges as the best dessert recipe made using Reynolds® Parchment Paper.

Additionally, the three category winning runner-up recipes will each receive $10,000 and $3,000 in GE kitchen appliances.

Contest details
Earlier this year, Pillsbury invited home cooks to submit their original recipes for consideration in one of four categories: Simply Sweet Treats, Savory Snacks & Sides, Weekend Breakfast Wows or Amazing Doable Dinners. The Bake-Off® Kitchens evaluated all of the eligible entries and chose the top 100, which will compete at the Contest finals at the Omni Nashville Hotel.

At the Contest finals, all 100 finalists will each prepare their original recipe for judging. A panel of independent judges, consisting of leading food experts and media, will select the best recipe in each of the four Contest categories based on taste, appearance, creativity and crowd appeal. The four category winning recipes will be placed online, giving America the chance to vote for their favorite. The public vote will be combined with the judges' decisions to determine the $1 million grand prize winner of the nation's premier cooking competition.

The Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest began in 1949, and the first $1 million grand prize was awarded in 1996. Glori Spriggs of Henderson, Nev. won the $1 million grand prize for her Loaded Potato Pinwheels recipe at the finals of the 46^th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest, held in November 2013 in Las Vegas.

Sponsors of the 47^th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest include The J.M. Smucker Company, GE Appliances, Green Giant, The J.R. Watkins Company and Reynolds Consumer Products.

For more information, go to www.BakeOff.com.

About the 47^th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest Sponsors
General Mills is one of the world's leading food companies, operating in more than 100 countries around the world. Its brands include Cheerios, Fiber One, Haagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., USA, General Mills had fiscal 2014 worldwide sales of US $17.9 billion.

Pillsbury products have been trusted by families to make meal times special times for more than 130 years. Favorite Pillsbury products include refrigerated cookies, crescent dinner rolls, breads, biscuits, pie crusts and sweet rolls as well as frozen biscuits, pie crusts and breakfast items. For product information and great-tasting recipes, visit www.pillsbury.com. Log on to www.generalmills.com for company information.

Few companies enjoy a heritage as rich as that of Green Giant. It all started 110 years ago in 1903, when the Crosby family created the first cannery in the rich valley of Le Sueur, Minnesota, where glaciers carved out some of the richest soil in the world. For generations, Green Giant farmers have been growing the best quality vegetables and freezing them quickly to lock in the freshness. That's how we've made our vegetables deliciously unforgettable for years, and made Green Giant a trusted household brand. For more information and delicious recipes, please visit www.greengiant.com, www.greengiant.com/giantdifference.

For more than 115 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that bring families together to share memorable meals and moments. Today, Smucker is a leading marketer and manufacturer of fruit spreads, retail packaged coffee, peanut butter, shortening and oils, ice cream toppings, sweetened condensed milk, and health and natural foods beverages in North America. The Company's wide variety of iconic brands and products include such trusted favorites as Smucker's® jams, jellies, preserves, fruit spreads and ice cream toppings; Jif® peanut butter; Crisco® oils, shortening and no-stick cooking sprays; Eagle Brand® sweetened condensed milk; and Pillsbury® baking mixes, ready-to-spread frosting and flour. For more information and delicious recipes, please visit www.smuckers.com, www.jif.com, www.crisco.com, www.eaglebrand.com and www.pillsburybaking.com.

GE Appliances is at the forefront of building innovative, energy-efficient appliances that improve people's lives. GE Appliances' products include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, dishwashers, washers, dryers, air conditioners, water filtration systems and water heaters. General Electric (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter to build a world that works better. For more information on GE Appliances, visit www.ge.com/appliances.

Reynolds Consumer Products is a leading provider of quality household essentials that have been trusted for generations. Our Reynolds® and Hefty® brand products help with preparation, cooking, cleanup, and storage, making mealtime easier. Our namesake Reynolds® products include the iconic Reynolds Wrap^® Aluminum Foil; Reynolds® Parchment Paper, Oven Bags, Slow Cooker Liners, and Baking Cups; and Cut-Rite® Wax Paper.  The Hefty^® brand is best known for strong, dependable waste bags, but it's also a leader in slider bags, foam plates, and plastic cups. Our products are available in the U.S. at mass merchants, grocers, and other retail stores, and in approximately 90 countries throughout the world. For more information, visit www.ReynoldsKitchens.com and www.Hefty.com.

For more than 145 years, The J.R. Watkins Company has been creating superior products, utilizing only the finest ingredients. Generations of families have grown up on Watkins products, like our pure vanilla, which has been a baking mainstay for over 100 years. Watkins products include gourmet spices and extracts, personal care, and home care. The company is headquartered in Winona, Minnesota and manufactures all of its products in the U.S.A. To learn more about Watkins products visit www.jrwatkins.com.

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SOURCE Pillsbury