The first-ever Morningstar Farms Veggie Creations Contest is being touted as a success. The contest urged vegetable enthusiasts to showcase their creative veggie creations.
Melissa Pantel-Ku of Chagrin Falls, Ohio created the winning photo/video entry entitled, “The Unicorn: An a-MAIZE-ing beast.” Selected by veggie sculptor and founder of Veggy Art, James Parker, Melissa has won a trip for two to Bunol, Spain for La Tomatina Festival. This festival boasts the world’s largest tomato fight, which takes place during a week-long celebration of art and culture.
Renowned vegetarian chef and produce expert, Curtis Aikens, selected “Island Fresh Tostadas with Pineapple-Avocado Salsa” as the contest’s winning recipe. Its creator, Karen Gulkin of Simpsonville, S.C. will now have the opportunity to sharpen her veggie creativity skills with a class in veggie sculpting. As the winner of the recipe portion of the Veggie Creations Contest, Karen has earned a trip for two to Virginia for a hands-on veggie- sculpting class from James Parker.
The Veggie Creations Contest received over 100 submissions between the photo/video and recipe categories. Judge James Parker was especially impressed by The Unicorn: An A-MAIZE-ing Beast because its creator was able to take a single vegetable, corn on the cob, and see it from so many different perspectives. The subject of the winning photo was fashioned completely from corn on the cob, using fresh and dried kernels, a dried cob, the husks, the stems and the corn silk, as well as a piece of baby corn for the horn.