The lakecity’s Lynn Hanson, best known for her amazingly decorated wedding cakes, has taken second place in the fifth annual Master Garlic Chef contest held at the South Cariboo Garlic Festival in Lac la Hache on the weekend.
“That was pretty exciting,” Hanson says. She says the first prize was $1,000; her second prize was $500 and the third prize was $250.
Of all the written recipes submitted to the contest the creators of the top three recipes were chosen to make their dishes for the judges during the two-day festival. Entries had to be original recipes.
Hanson says she sent in a couple of recipes to the contest, not realizing that if she was one of the finalists she would have to prepare her recipe live at the festival cook-off.
“You couldn’t lose,” Hanson says. “It was a very hot day and lots and lots of fun!”
She chose her 40-clove, roasted garlic chicken recipe, which translates to using about three-and-a -half heads of garlic in the culinary creation.
“There were four judges, and we had to make a dish for each of them,” Hanson says.
The first place winner of $1,000 and title of 2011 Master Garlic Chef, Sylke Oschatz-Junge, made a unique garlic onion cake.
The third place winner of $250, Mike Klyne, made a quarter-pounder deluxe garlic seafood chowder.
Hanson says she is still making wedding cakes and has also taken up a new hobby.
“I have started a new hobby of Brazilian embroidery which I totally love doing,” Hanson says.
Hanson says she will probably use her winnings to set up her new greenhouse, which her husband just built for her birthday.