I won the Soup Contest!

A long drive followed by a long day at the Illinois Culinary Institute in Peoria, IL turned out to be quite a memorable trip. As a finalist, I was one among five others to participate in the Midwest Soup Challege.

The finalists from different parts of midwest met at the Illinois Culinary Institute, in Peoria, IL. The facility had a state-of-the-art chef's dream kitchen.

The cook-off started at 10:30 a.m. and finished up around 11:45 a.m. Five totally different soups competed against the New England Country Soups mainly on taste and nutrition. My hearty vegetarian lentil soup came out the winner. Three highly acclaimed judges did the taste tests of our soups.

The experience was similar to 'The Iron Chef' show we see on TV, with cameras going around showing the chefs at their finest, viewers watching from outside the enclosed kitchen space, the entire hour projected on TV, and the media writing and commenting on it.

The award I received as a winner was a standing ovation accmpanied by a bouquet of flowers, a heavy-duty brushed stainless steel ladle, two dinner tickets to the culinary restaurant, a weekend getaway to Martha's vineyard, all expenses paid. The Friday before the contest, my guest and I stayed at a quaint bed and breakfast in Peoria also compliments of the New England Country Soup team.

Here's the New England Country Soup Web site - http://www.soupchallenge.com. Over the course of the coming week, pictures will be posted on this site.