Amy Nelson dishes on her winning dish

Before the Food Network came into popularity,  there was the Pillsbury Bake-Off. This contest is considered to be the Gold standard of baking competitions.  Just ask Amy Nelson, the 48th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest Grand Prize winner.

This year's contest is now open until September 12.

Amy lives on a farm in the Appalachian mountain area of North Carolina with her husband and son.  Baking had always been important to her as she learned how to cook from her mother and even when she was a little girl she was drawn to Julia Child.  For Amy, food is a way of showing her love.

She entered with only two days to spare, but she won the whole thing with her Bejeweled Cranberry Orange Rolls and her endearing story.

If you have dreams of entering this contest, you must come up with an original recipe using Pillsbury products in one of the four following categories:  Cozy Weekend Breakfasts, Appetizers for Any Party, Winning Weeknight Dinners and Sweet + Simple Desserts.

In addition to creating an awesome recipe, people who wish to enter are also required to submit a personal story of no more than 2000 words to bring their recipe to life.

Now, almost everyone over 21-years-old is eligible to enter.  The only caveats are that no professional chefs or food writers are allowed to enter, and neither are any past Grand Prize winners or employees or people with immediate-family relatives of General Mills, Inc.

The winner of the Grand Prize gets:

  • A check for $50,000;
  • A choice of a new Kitchen suite from GE valued at around $10,000
  • An all-expense-paid trip for the winner and a guest to New York City, New York during December 2018 or January 2019 and an appearance on the Food Network show The Kitchen.
  • A feature in a 2019 edition of Food Network Magazine

The retail value of the Grand Prize is approximately $65,000.

Category winners get:

  • $5,000
  • The choice of a select group of kitchen suites from GE Appliances, valued at approximately $10,000.
  • A trip to New York City, New York during December 2018 or January 2019 to be featured on the Food Network show The Kitchen. T
  • A feature in a 2019 edition of Food Network Magazine.

The retail value of each Category Winner Prize is approximately $20,000.

Amy Nelson spoke with Michelle Tompkins for TheCelebrityCafe.com about her background, what tips she has for entering the contest, what makes her story special, what she did with her prize money and more.

See this fun and helpful interview here.

Amy Nelson and information on the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest can be found here.