Contest cooks up controversy

Every two years, the Pillsbury Bake-Off leaves some wondering how a recipe — especially one so simple — could be worth a million dollars.

And there are always rumbles and grumbles about why some recipes win and others don't.

I tasted this year's million-dollar winner, Baked Chicken and Spinach Stuffing, and I wasn't wowed. But it was cold by the time I tasted it. One of my food editor friends, Janice Denham, was a judge, and she assured me that the judges found the peachy-maple glazed chicken delicious.

They also thought it was an innovative use for the waffle sticks. Maybe that's why competent cooks are bewildered — they make their own waffles, so they would never think to use frozen waffles for anything, let alone stuffing.

The truth is, most big-money recipe contests aren't about culinary prowess. Sponsors don't want a complex recipe. They want something that tastes good and is so easy that people will buy their products to make it.

Among this year's controversies:

• People could vote for a new $10,000 category, America's Favorite Recipe on the Bake-Off Web site. The winner, Mary Iovinelli Buescher, sparked complaints about her campaign for votes. Buescher posted her Pineapple-Black Bean Enchiladas recipe on several Web sites inviting viewers to vote and providing a link to the Bake-Off site.

The hospital where she works as a dietitian began serving her recipe in the cafeteria, which led to a TV news story that told viewers how to vote for her recipe. Since it's a new category, it's hard to say if rules were broken. Bake-Off officials might have simply been delighted because it drummed up more contest publicity.

• Two of the nine judges were from Austin, Texas, hometown of grand-prize winner Anna Ginsberg. Did they swing the vote? I can only quote from Denham, who said when she agreed to be a judge last December, she was told to avoid any information about the recipes or finalists. Judges are supposed to have no idea whose recipe they're tasting. I'd like to think they maintained their integrity. Also, if there was hometown favoritism, why didn't the other Austin finalist, Jennifer Mohn, win anything?

• Why were two category winners so similar? The Choco-Peanut Butter Cups, which won the Simple Snacks category, were almost minisize versions of the Peanut Butter Truffle Tart that won the Weekends Made Special category. My only thought is that the two categories had a separate set of judges working independently of each other.