Hood Announces Grand Prize Winner of 'Chef Creations Inspired by Hood Cream' Recipe Contest

Hood, the leading dairy brand in New England, announced today that Donna Speirs of Kennebunk, Maine, has been selected as the grand prize winner of the Hood Cream "Chef Creations Inspired by Hood Cream" recipe contest. Speirs will receive a prize package of $2,500 and her CaraMel Croissant Bread Pudding recipe published on a Hood Cream container. Speirs' recipe was selected by a panel of New England celebrity chefs due to the combination of creativity and taste appeal.

"Top New England chefs have trusted Hood Cream in their recipes for decades, and we enjoyed seeing home cooks' creative recipe ideas during the Hood Chef Creations Recipe Contest," said Sarah Barow, spokesperson for Hood. "Speirs' CaraMel Croissant Bread Pudding demonstrates the high quality and versatility of Hood Cream in a delicious way.

Entrants submitted their recipes from August 1st through September 4th, 2013, at Hood.com. From there, Hood narrowed down the entries to 30 semifinalists. These recipes were voted on by the public from September 16th to October 1st, 2013, to determine the six finalists; each representing a New England state. The finalist's recipes were then judged on creativity and taste appeal by local celebrity chefs Jeff Landry of The Farmer's Table in Portland, ME; Ben Lloyd of Tazza in Providence, RI; and Chris Coombs of Boston Chops, dbar and Deuxave in Boston, MA.

For the winning recipe, Speirs attributes her creativity to her flair for cooking. Wanting to put a new spin on the classing bread pudding, she paired her passion for creamy caramel with her favorite flaky pastry, croissants. By using quality Hood Cream products, Speirs elevated her recipe to create a new favorite that she hopes families across New England will enjoy.

The contest was part of a larger campaign that ran in conjunction with the Hood Cream Chef Inspirations Food Truck tour. The tour, which visited select New England locations during the month of August, demonstrated how Hood Cream is trusted by professional and home chefs alike. The three celebrity chefs made one-of-kind dishes featuring Hood Cream that were served during the food truck tour to illustrate the variety of restaurant-quality dishes that can be created using Hood Cream.

Visit Hood's Facebook page (facebook.com/HPHood), Twitter account (@hphood), Instagram feed (@hphood) or Hood.com to learn more about the contest and winning recipe.

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