Culinary Competition

Along with our partners, Incite Strategic Partners and Gordon Food Service, we are excited to announce our annual Culinary Competition!

 

Registration will open Tuesday, June 2 at 10:00 a.m. ET

Participants will create and prepare recipes using ingredients from a mystery listing, that will be provided to teams after registering to participate. All ingredients will be items you will be able to purchase at your local grocery store or include with your next food order. Each team will prepare one entree, one side, one salad, and a dessert for a total of four items to present. This competition will be virtual.  You will document your culinary skills through photos and PowerPoint presentations only, no videos. KCARE will provide a template to guide you in creating your presentation that will be shared with our judges. 

The top 3 winning facility/community groups will earn 1 complimentary registration to the Dining and Nutrition Conference set for August 12-13. Those groups will be asked to share their presentation with the conference attendees on Wednesday, August 12. 

The 1st place winning facility/community group will be recognized at the Quality Awards Banquet on Thursday, November 19. The banquet tickets are not included as part of the prize. They can be purchased for $100/each. 

REQUIREMENTS:

*Must be a member of KCARE
*One entry per facility/community. If you are part of a corporate chain, we respectfully ask that you join forces and submit two entries per corporate. 
*Team must create: one entree, one side, one salad and one dessert for a total of four different items to present. 
*5 of the 7 mystery ingredients must be used in some way (can be used partially)
*Additional grocery/pantry items may be used in addition to mystery list ingredients. All ingredients and recipes must be documented in final presentation. More details will be emailed to all registered groups. 

JUDGING

Each team will "present" their culinary creations virtually to the judges. Final entry will be judged on presentation, creativity, engagement of residents in creating dishes or sampling them, and appetite appeal. (Taste is important, however our esteemed judges cannot taste your dish, so presentation, descriptions and creativity are crucial in this competition).

WHO IS JUDGING?

Your presentation will be judged by:
*Cameron Oestringer, Culinary Innovation Specialist for DiningRD
*Jen Bruning, Senior Director of Partner Education for Incite Strategic Partners
*Jessica Hogue, Non-Commercial Business Solutions Specialist for Gordon Food Service

Registration will open June 2nd @ 10 a.m. ET

The Culinary Competition will be open to 21 member facilities/communitiesJudging will take place July 14, 21, and 28. Mystery ingredient listing and presentation templates will be emailed to registered groups on June 15. 

If you have any questions please contact: Jessica Martin, [email protected].

HAVE FUN and be creative!

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

    

When
7/14/2026 1:00 PM - 7/28/2026 4:30 PM
Eastern Daylight Time
Where
Virtual on Line Virtual on Line
Spots available
Registration
Sign in or create an account to register
Registration ends 6/19/2026 12:00 PM EDT

ATTENTION: PLEASE EMAIL HANNAH WOEMPNER WITH NAME, TITLE & EMAIL ADDRESS FOR ANY NEW EMPLOYEES IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE MEMBER PRICING.


A credit card fee based on the type of credit card being used for payment will be added to the invoice. To avoid credit card fees, consider paying via ACH. Please contact Sharon Netherton for help with processing an ACH payment.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
Cancellation received in writing no later than seven (7) workdays prior to a seminar will receive a full refund. Cancellations received in writing inside of seven (7) workdays will receive one-half refund. Any participants who don't attend a program will receive no refund unless prior notice in writing is given to the association office as outlined in this policy. Participants may appeal refund determinations by requesting reconsideration by the Executive Committee. Such appeals must be made in writing within 30 days after the seminar or convention is held. Please email all cancellations to Angela Porter