And that, and that, and that…

Last week, I mentioned how much I love my full-time job as a professional fundraiser
at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.

This week, I got to dabble in my “other” position: Eggland’s Best CEO (Chief Egg Officer). While it’s mostly an honorary title that I won in 2013 by producing a video for the EB CEO contest, the job comes with a few hard-core responsibilities.

For instance, I was recently invited to participate in the 2014 Eggland’s Best “Your Best Recipe.”  We were on hand as the 28 recipes were judged.

We had a blast. Not only did I get to hang out some really cool chicks, we were able to sample the 28 eggstraordinary dishes that made it into this third judging tier.

There were 5 finalists in four main categories: breakfast, appetizer, main course and, my favorite, dessert. There were also 10 “kid friendly” recipes, some of which had made it as finalists in another category.

Food stylist Lisa Feeney and her assistant, Kris Ruggeri, spent hours whipping up all 28 recipes in Feeney’s kitchen.

The judging took place in the lovely Morristown home of food stylist Lisa Feeney, where she and her assistant, Kris Ruggeri, had slaved away for hours by the time judging began at 9 a.m. Lisa and Kris continued to crack, chop, grind, mix, blend, boil, poach, simmer and bake until the very last dish was tasted—and tested—at 6 p.m. Throughout the day, professional food photographers snapped away at these edible works of art. Eggland’s Best eggs stole the show, of course. Feeney and Ruggeri went through about 15 dozen in all.

Judges painstakingly scored each dish, judging the four primary categories on taste, creativity and visual appeal. (Kid-friendly recipes were judged on ease of preparation, how involved kids could be and taste.) The scoring, like baking itself, is a science. All the data will be tabulated to determine the winner.

Since not even the finalists know who they are, I’m not allowed to show any pictures of the food. You’ll just have to wait until October 6, when all finalists will be announced on the Eggland’s Best website. The category winners and the grand prize winner will be announced in November. There is a chance the overall winner will, like Donna, also earn the top prize in his or her category.

This is serious prize money: $1,000 for each category winner and the kid-friendly recipe.

I got to hang out with my sister, niece and nephew along the way.

The overall champ gets a whopping $10,000 and will rule the roost as top chef! There will also be a fan favorite this year, where Eggland’s Best fans will be able to vote for their top recipe. That winner also scores $1K.

Frosting on the whole EB cake: I also got to spend some time with my sister, Heidi Hovland, her son, Riordan, 8, and daughter, Lena, 11. They conveniently live 15 miles from the voting site.

I’m back in Huntsville now, but I plan on reliving the judging memories by making some of those great recipes. Not sure which one will win, but I’ll be sure to whip it up. You can, too. Eggland’s Best will publish all 28 recipes in a PDF cookbook that will be available on the company’s website.

The way I see it, we’re all winners!