Legendary Lentil Cook-Off at the National Lentil Festival ...

(August 16-17, 2013)

My day at the 25th Annual National Lentil Festival started with an early morning lentil-pancake breakfast before a ride on a fire truck in the Grand Parade.  The festival is held each August in Pullman, Washington which is located in the heart of the Palouse where nearly 25% of all the lentils in the USA are grown.  This two-day event is filled with lots of lentil treats - including some amazing lentil ice cream - and great entertainment.

I was invited by the Festival Committee to be one of the five celebrity judges for the Legendary Lentil Cook-Off.  More than 100 contestants were considered based on their submissions of creative lentil recipes, all competing for the chance to win a $2000 grand prize.  After careful consideration by the committee, five finalist were selected.  The finalist were invited to prepare their recipe at the Festival for a live judging in front of the thousands of attendees.

Photo provided by The National Lentil Festival

Congratulations to all of the finalist who presented tasty and creative lentil dishes.  It was a fun weekend from the pancake breakfast, getting to ride on the fire truck, judging the dishes, and relaxing in the beer garden - all in a day's hard work.  A big thank you to the Festival Committee for inviting me to participate in this fabulous event!

This  year's winner was Patricia Franks of  Valleyford, Washington for her Crimson Lentil Granola. You can find this recipe and many others in the annual lentil cookbook. To order a copy go here – The National Lentil Festival: Bestsellers.

If you're local this is a must participate event.  For everyone else, I encourage you to submit your creative lentil recipes for next year.  Learn more about the festival and contest at  www.lentilfest.com.