National Create Cooking Challenge: My Family’s Recipe Winners Selected

Durham, NH (June 14, 2022) -- American Public Television (APT), the original home to public television’s culinary experts and sponsor of the Create Cooking Challenge: My Family’s Recipe, has announced that two new digital hosts have been selected to join the ranks of America’s top food celebrities. Selected from a nationwide pool of more than 100 entries by judges who are among public television’s best known chefs, Adam Lambay of St. Louis, Missouri, has won the Grand Prize, receiving $4,000 and production equipment valued at $1,000 to finance and produce a web series of 10 two-minute videos to appear on CreateTV.com. Second Prize Winner, Dennis Perez, of Tampa, Florida, was awarded $1,000 and production equipment valued at $1,000 to finance and produce a web series of three, two-minute videos for CreateTV.com. Distributed and produced by APT, The WNET Group and GBH Boston, Create® is a national channel carried by 241 local public television stations and features the best of public television’s content in the genres of food, travel, home & garden, arts & crafts, fitness and lifestyle.

Joining the winners’ circle were 16 entrants from across the country, each of whom will be awarded prizes featuring Create merchandise. New Hampshire PBS Create viewer Grace Vallo(Bianco), from Salem, New Hampshire, placed ninth in the competition. Her entry, Lobster Puff Pastry Tart (“Adult “ Lobster Roll), may be viewed here: https://youtu.be/cTuYJoTKWFk . All the winning video entries may be seen at CreateTV.com/challenge/winners.

As part of her entry, Grace provided the following information:

• About your cooking experience: I'm a 27-year-old self-taught home chef, full-time food blogger, born and bred New Englander, and lover of wandering through farm stands looking for the perfect "ugly" heirloom tomato! I'm the creator of TastefullyGrace.com, a recipe blog focused on seasonal cooking & baking.
• Why you entered the Create Cooking Challenge? I had no hesitation about what I wanted to make! New England's seasons have inspired my cooking, my blog, and my family’s recipes since I was just a little kid! This cooking challenge is the perfect way to share my love for New England!
  
  
• Why did you choose this recipe? I'm your typical New Englander in that I LOVE lobster! I grew up going to my local lobster pound with my Dad, before steaming and dunking them in a big cup of melted butter with fresh local chives. This recipe is an ode to New England's lobster roll, but with an elevated twist! occasions.

Judging the Create Cooking Challenge, which ran March 8 –April 5, was a panel of some of public television’s most recognized hosts: Kevin Belton (Kevin Belton’s Cookin’ Louisiana), Pati Jinich (Pati’s Mexican Table), Diane Kochilas (My Greek Table), Nick Stellino (Storytellers in the Kitchen), and Martin Yan (Yan Can Cook!).

Entrants’ online submissions included a short (two minutes or less), original video featuring their recipe’s preparation, a brief narrative about the origins of their recipe, the full recipe and a photo of the finished dish. Judging criteria included demonstrated culinary knowledge, presentation skills, telegenic appeal, unique ideas and production values. This year’s entrant’s presented multi-generational recipes originating from more than 25 different countries and cultural traditions, as well as American-grown recipes representing nearly 35 regions of the country. The winner’s recipes, as well as many select entries and some shared by the judges will appear in Create’s new Heritage Recipe Collection at CreateTV.com.

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Sponsored by American Public Television. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the fifty United States, the District of Columbia and U. S. Territories. Age 18 years or over. Began 3/8/22 at 12:01 a.m. ET; ended 4/5/22 at 11:59 p.m. ET. For the complete Official Rules, visit www.CreateTV.com/challenge.Void where prohibited by law.

About Create: Now in its 17th year, Create® is the premier lifestyle channel featuring public television’s most popular how-to series, focused on food, travel, home & garden, arts & crafts, fitness, and lifestyle. Create is produced and distributed by American Public Television (APT); The WNET Group (New York); and GBH Boston, in association with National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) and PBS. Create TV is carried by 241 local public television stations nationwide, reaching more than 83% of USTVHH, and is seen in 21 of the top 25 U.S. television markets. Create’s companion website, CreateTV.com features extensive video, the CreateTV schedule, program and host information.

Pressroom Contact

Carla Gordon Russell
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crussell@nhpbs.org
(603) 868-4339