Celery is a staple ingredient in most kitchens; in fact it’s one of the three pillars of the “holy trinity” of cooking (the other two are onions and carrots) but it’s rarely used in sweet applications. That is, until now.

To celebrate celery and the vegetable’s versatility, Duda Farm Fresh Foods invites cooks to enter the “Sweet Celery Bake-Off” and create an original dessert recipe featuring celery. Participants have a chance to win a grand prize of $500 and be a featured recipe on Duda’s website.

“As a sixth-generation American family farm that specializes in celery, citrus, lettuce, radishes and corn, we encourage healthy eating through social promotions, recipe development, contests and more,” said Nichole Towell, director of marketing. “We decided to take one of the healthiest veggies in the kitchen and create a dessert challenge. We know celery isn’t normally a dessert ingredient, but we think the keen minds of food lovers everywhere will come up with some seriously sweet ideas.”

To enter, participants can visit the Duda website and follow the on-screen instructions to submit an original recipe that must include fresh celery.

The deadline for submission is Thursday, July 31 and the contest is open to anyone. The first 50 people who submit recipes will receive a coupon for free celery. One Grand Prize winner will receive a $500 Visa gift card, and two others will receive $100 Visa gift cards for the most creative celery dessert and the best use of celery in a dessert. Winners will be contacted on or before August 15, 2014.

“Desserts are the most requested and most searched recipes on our website; with a little creativity and food-loving spirit, we think celery could be the refreshing ingredient summer desserts have been missing,” Towell said. “We’re looking for out-of-the-box dessert ideas that are on-trend AND delicious — all featuring celery as one of the main ingredients.