BC residents are invited to enter a contest that encourages families to cook and eat together.
The seventh annual Hands-on Cook-off contest is now accepting video submissions of families cooking together. The videos can be a maximum of three minutes long and should show two or more people preparing a recipe together. The videos can be entered in one of two categories: multigenerational — showing at least two generations — or youth — showing at least two youth under the age of 18.
“We’re really just looking for people to show fun in the kitchen and participating in the kitchen together,” says Denise Marchessault, chef, author of British Columbia from Scratch and one of the judges of the contest. “So we’re looking at participation, we’re looking at creativity, clarity.”
Videos should also demonstrate safety in the kitchen.
Better Together, an active online community forum designed to celebrate family meals, cooking and trying new recipes, puts on the contest, with sponsorship from the BC Dairy Association.
Better Together started the contest because research shows that when families cook together, kids gain valuable benefits such as better grades, better health and better overall social adaptability.
“I think cooking together and eating together is probably one of the most important things we can do with our children,” says Marchessault.
There are also plenty of prizes to be won.
The public can vote for their favourite video and the video with the most votes in each category will win the People’s Choice award for that category. The winner in the multigenerational category will receive $300 and the winning team in the youth category will receive $150 for the team and $150 for their school or youth program.
Marchessault and five other judges will also choose the grand prize winner and the runner up for each category.
For more contest information and to watch past videos visit bettertogetherbc.ca/contest. The deadline for entry is noon on Friday, May 20.